Jai Moondra Takes Wicket on First Ball of T20I Career for Ireland

India-born left-arm pacer Jai Moondra made a memorable start to his international career by becoming only the second Ireland player to take a wicket with the first ball of his T20I career.

Playing his first international match against India in Belfast on Friday, Moondra struck with the first delivery of his spell in the second over of India's innings. His victim was Sanju Samson, who was bowled after dragging the ball back onto his stumps while trying to force it through the off side.

Moondra joined Matthew Humphreys as the only Ireland bowlers to claim a wicket with the first ball of their T20I careers.

The 29-year-old was making his T20I debut after Ireland handed him his first international cap for the opening game of the series at the Civil Service Cricket Club.

Born in Tonk, Rajasthan, Moondra moved to Ireland in 2021 to pursue a Master's degree in Electronics and Communication. After settling in the country, he joined Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin and worked his way into Ireland's domestic cricket system. Interestingly, Moondra did not begin as a fast bowler. He started his cricket journey as a batter who also bowled left-arm spin before later switching to pace.

Earlier in the day, India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to field first. India's fast bowlers kept the Ireland batters under pressure with disciplined bowling and restricted the hosts to 182 for nine. Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 24. Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker fought back with 50 off 36 balls, but did not receive enough support from the other batters. India did not hand a debut to teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi despite expectations before the match.