Ireland vs India 2018, 1st T20I: Five reasons why Ireland lost

#1 Failure to build partnerships

Ireland couldn't build a strong stand in the middle

The reason behind Ireland scaling the 200-run mark in a number of T20I matches recently is their ability to stitch strong partnerships through the batting innings. This is exactly what they lacked against India on the day, as Shannon continued to find a lone battle as every other batsman refused to accompany him on the crease for an extended period of time.

India had set a stiff target for the hosts going into the second innings, one which required a top-order player to bat through the chase and another batsman to support him with a stable partnership in the middle.

However, Ireland were unable to tick both the boxes, thereby falling to a one-sided Indian victory on the day.