India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted there was disbelief in the dressing room after the Men in Blue suffered a shock 2-0 T20I series whitewash to Ireland. He praised the hosts for executing the basics better and urged his side to learn from the setback, according to Cricinfo.
Historic Series Victory for Ireland
India were whitewashed 2-0 in the two-match series, with Ireland registering their first-ever series victory over India in any format. The result also ended the reigning T20 World Cup champions' 16-series winning streak in T20Is.
Reacting to the defeat, ten Doeschate acknowledged the disappointment within the camp but credited Ireland for their disciplined performances. "There's a little bit of disbelief," ten Doeschate said when asked about the team's reaction. "It's also very hard to be critical of guys who have just won a World Cup. We've been outdone or outsmarted by a team who just did the basics very well."
Adaptation to Conditions Highlighted
The India assistant coach said the series highlighted the importance of adapting to varying conditions and opponents outside the subcontinent. "So firstly, credit to Ireland, and secondly the learnings for us in terms of being able to adapt to different conditions. That's probably the biggest takeaway from this," he said. "The guys really know how to play in India. This is a good lesson in the fact that we're going to have to adapt and play slightly differently when we go to different countries and play against different teams."
Speaking after the series loss, ten Doeschate admitted India struggled to adjust to the challenging conditions, particularly the windy weather. "There was no doubt in my mind that the conditions were essentially our undoing," ten Doeschate said. "It's things we spoke about before, but we just didn't address it well enough out in the middle. I think the big thing was the wind."
No Excuses, Need for Better Solutions
The India assistant coach refused to use the conditions as an excuse, saying the team needed to find better solutions when faced with different challenges abroad. "Again, absolutely no excuses, but when presented with a different challenge we have to find solutions of playing in a different manner, in a better manner," he said.
Ten Doeschate praised Ireland's disciplined bowling performance, saying the hosts denied India opportunities to play their natural attacking game. "I thought Ireland did that very well with the ball. They never let us hit straight. In two matches, I think we hit two straight sixes. They were both off the spinner. They just did the basics really well and we couldn't combat that," he said.
Lessons for Future Overseas Assignments
He added that India's batting approach, shaped by conditions at home, would need to evolve ahead of future overseas tours. "We're probably too used to a sort of a tempo and style where you can hit sixes more freely. I think this will be the case when you go to England as well, maybe slightly quicker wickets, maybe slightly less wind, but we're going to have to adapt and be a lot smarter about how we'd like to play if we're going to get wins there," ten Doeschate added.
