Team India find themselves in an unprecedented crisis right after probably scaling the peak not so long ago. A full-blown collapse or capitulation from a team with this degree of prowess and depth was not on anyone’s cards, but it is a reality that has to be accepted.
The Men in Blue’s puzzling downward spiral reached a new low out of nowhere as they slipped to a record-breaking 125-run loss against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, on Tuesday, July 7. The visitors were blown out for a paltry 76 inside 12 overs, while trying to chase down a mammoth 2022-run target.
With the highest score being just 13 in a disastrous show by the batters, along with the fact that the bowlers were hit for a huge total for the second time in a row, the team management are in need of a total breakdown and some deep introspection if they are to come out of this.
Team India are not entirely familiar with losing streaks in the shortest format of late. The last time they even recorded consecutive defeats before this was three years ago in the West Indies.
On that note, let us take a look at three of Team India’s all-time longest winless runs in T20Is.
#1 5 matches (June-July 2026)
India’s series whitewash in Ireland, and the fact they are yet to win a match in the T20I series against England, means that the nation have gone without a win across five T20I matches for the very first time in their history. A no result in Durham is sandwiched between the four alarming losses, but going five matches without a win with such resources is arguably a cardinal sin.
All of these matches are also Shreyas Iyer’s first set of matches as the new T20I captain. The middle-order batter could not have asked for a worse start to his reign after taking over from a World Cup-winning captain. A series in Ireland to settle into the international circuit turned out to be a stain as India struggled to adapt to the conditions to lose the series 0-2.
Still searching for a win three games into the England T20Is as well, the current losing run has proven to be a massive rut that India are struggling to get out of.
#2 4 matches (July-October 2021)
The last time India had to wait agonisingly for a T20I win while dealing with a string of losses was close to five years ago, during the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2021. However, on that occasion, the four losses in a row were split between two different times, with different captains also being responsible for those losses.
The initial set of losses came during the bilateral series against Sri Lanka when Shikhar Dhawan led a second-string side at a time when COVID-19 was rampant. Team India, struggling with illness and availability, went on to lose the second and the third T20I to concede the series 1-2.
The team’s next match was straight at the T20 World Cup 2021 second group stage under Virat Kohli. Team India’s losing run in Sri Lanka continued as they recorded tame losses against Pakistan and New Zealand, hampering their chances of progressing to the knockouts.
The Men in Blue went on to end the losing run with a thumping victory over Afghanistan, but the damage had already been done.
#3 4 matches (June-December 2009)
One has to turn the clock back to the origins of T20I to find a poor run of results for Team India, similar to what they are facing now. After a smooth introduction to the shortest format, which included the T20 World Cup 2007 title, the Men in Blue had to endure a horror patch, which included their title defence in the 2009 edition in England.
After securing decisive wins over Ireland and Bangladesh in the group stage, Team India had a massive challenge in the Super 8 stage, being drawn against the hosts England, West Indies, and South Africa. While it was far from a cakewalk, the defending champions completely imploded, losing all three matches to crash out of the tournament.
Furthermore, in their first game after the World Cup humiliation, India lost by 29 runs to Sri Lanka in the home series opener, conceding 215 runs in the first innings.
Edited by Gokul Nair
