Team India were stunned by England in the third T20I at Nottingham as they suffered a humiliating 125-run loss. The hosts are now 2-0 up in the five-match series with just two games remaining.
England put up a big score of 201/7 after batting first. In reply, India were never really in the chase right from the start of their innings. They lost openers Abhishek Sharma (10) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (13) quickly and were pushed further on the back foot, losing Ishan Kishan (13) and captain Shreyas Iyer (5) in no time. Being reduced to 41/4, the visitors could not recover and were eventually skittled out for just 76 in 11.4 overs.
Fans slammed the Indian batters for their disappointing performance following yet another defeat.
“World Champions can’t keep putting up batting performances like this. Time for some serious introspection. Disappointing performance by team India. ❌,” a fan wrote on X.
“Shambolic performance from India🤬This is really brainless batting, each and every batter just bashing the ball without understanding game situation!! Biggest margin of loss – 125 runs is just unacceptable Unnecessary experimentation costs all this🤦♂️#INDvsENG #GautamGambhir,” another tweet read.
Fans also expressed that the batting line-up was ‘exposed’ after struggling to do well overseas, having played only on flat tracks back home.
“So sad to see Indian cricket team struggling like this. The batting highway in India were the reason we kept scoring 200+ totals. The same batting lineup is now struggling to put up runs against Ireland and England. Time to question why the management kept pushing batting friendly pitches despite knowing that the next major assignment of World Cup is in South Africa ?,” a fan wrote.
Below are some other reactions from fans on X –
The 125-run defeat was the biggest defeat margin for the Men in Blue in T20Is. 76 all-out was also their second-lowest all-out total in the format. With just two games remaining, Shreyas Iyer and Co. are in a must-win position in both the clashes to level the series 2-2.
India’s winless streak in T20Is continues under Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer had a tough start as T20I captain and matters only seem to be getting worse at the moment. The Men in Blue have struggled to win a single game since his tenure as skipper began.
Following the embarrassing 0-2 whitewash in the Ireland series, India have lost both the games in England as well, with the opening T20I being abandoned due to rain.
With four defeats and a no result in five matches, this is the longest winless sequence for the world champions in T20Is to date.
Edited by Rishab Vm