The Indian Cricket team conceded the ENG vs IND T20 2026 4-0 after losing the final match of the series against England by 56 runs at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday.
The defeat marked the first time India lost four matches in a bilateral T20I series, handing new India T20I captain, Shreyas Iyer yet another unwanted record. The opening match of the series was washed out due to rain.
India had previously suffered a 2-0 sweep against Ireland in what was Iyer’s first venture in the new role since taking over from ICC World T20 winning captain; Suryakumar Yadav.
Without a victory in seven matches, this is also India’s longest-ever winless run in T20I cricket.
With Ishan Kishan top-scoring with 56 off 35 balls on Saturday, India could manage only 201/8 in 20 overs while chasing England’s 257/3.
Jos Buttler smashed 131 off 64 balls while Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 95 from 45 deliveries as England notched up their highest total against India in T20I cricket.
Chasing the record score, India looked to come out all guns blazing but found themselves on the back foot early after losing opener Abhishek Sharma cheaply in the third over.
His opener partner Sanju Samson, back in the team in place of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, managed to strike some meaty blows and made a quickfire 27 before succumbing a couple overs later.
Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer then came together to put on a brisk 55-run partnership off 30 balls to guide India to 110/2 at the halfway stage.
However, Iyer perished at the start of the 11th over and Ishan Kishan followed his captain back to the dugout a couple of overs later, taking the wind out of India’s chase.
Tilak Varma struck a defiant fifty, but the contest was already beyond India’s reach by the time he fell in the 18th over as England completed a 4-0 series win.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, England lost Phil Salt in the second over to Prasidh Krishna but it hardly proved to be a hindrance as Jos Buttler and Harry Brook stitched together a record 233-run partnership for the second wicket.
The stand was England’s highest in T20Is, the highest for the second wicket in men’s T20Is and the fourth-highest partnership for any wicket in the format.
Brook was handed an early reprieve when Shivam Dube dropped him on three and the right-hander capitalised, racing to a 19-ball fifty. The English skipper eventually stayed unbeaten on 95.
Buttler brought up his second T20I century in just 51 balls. The English opener eventually fell for 131 after hammering 12 fours and eight sixes.
Arshdeep Singh briefly stemmed the flow of runs with disciplined wide yorkers at the death, but England still plundered 32 runs from the final two overs to seal a record total against the Men in Blue.
India under Gautam Gambhir as the coach have lost their last two Test series, last two ODI series and now their last two T20I series as well in Ireland & England. The very pertinent question that needs to be asked is how long will Gambhir be allowed to continue in his job, as clearly India collectively have slipped considerably in all formats of the game after he has become the coach.
Courtesy: Written by Raghav Ravichandran