India's captain Shreyas Iyer was in a very strong mood after the heavy defeat of his team as one of the heaviest T20 International defeats of all time and describes the performance as “atrocious” after England's 125-run win at Trent Bridge. Not only did England take a comfortable 2-0 lead in the five-match series, but India still needs to answer for the team performance on the field with the ball and its performance after this loss.
With a challenging target of 202, India collapsed spectacularly for just 76 in 11.4 overs, their lowest total against England in T20Is and their biggest defeat by runs in the format. Another record was an 80-run loss in Wellington to New Zealand in 2019, so Tuesday’s result is yet another unwanted one.
The fast-bowling duo of Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue was too hot to handle. Always bowling at 145 km/h, they picked apart India’s top order with pace, bounce and relentless accuracy. Archer took 3 for 29 and Tongue made career best 4 for 28 as India’s batting line-up collapsed under pressure.
The collapse began in the Powerplay and never recovered. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showed his fearless approach by hitting Archer for a six after he was beaten by a sharp bouncer but his entertaining cameo ended quickly as he gloved another short ball to the wicketkeeper. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel all fell cheaply, leaving India at 52 for five after five overs.
From there England began to regain the upper hand and held on to their leads. Will Jacks removed Tilak Varma, Tongue removed Shivam Dube and Harshit Rana, while Adil Rashid finished the innings with two late wickets as India failed to attain the lowest total in T20I.
England had 201 for 7 after opener Phil Salt contributed 70. Jos Buttler contributed a brisk 36 before he was bowled by Prince Yadav with a yorker and Sam Curran’s 41 helped the hosts to 200-run mark although India’s pacers maintained some discipline in the middle overs.
After the defeat, Iyer gave an honest assessment of his team’s performance.
"It was atrocious. I can’t put a better word. Losing by such a large margin isn’t acceptable,” the Indian captain said on Sky Sports.
Although the pitch helped the fast bowlers, Iyer admitted his team failed to execute their plans.
"Hard lengths helped the bowlers on this wicket, but we didn’t execute many. When you’re chasing, you have to establish patterns for how to chase. We fell short, our execution was awful," he said.
Despite the heavy defeat, Iyer said India must move on quickly with two games to play in the series.
"It's a great opportunity to come back strong, not to dwell on what has happened in the past. We’ve played awful cricket but there’s lots to learn as well,” he said.
Harry Brook, however, praised his batting unit and the pace attack on a display of England.
"Salty played a mega innings. To get to 200 on a tricky surface was a phenomenal effort," Brook said.
He added that England’s bowlers kept to a simple but effective plan.
"We didn’t need to talk much before the chase. The bowlers knew exactly what we needed to hit — the top of the stumps with the occasional bouncer. It worked perfectly tonight as simple as it sounds,” he said.
The first game had to be abandoned for rain and England won the next two convincingly so the hosts are one win away from taking the series. The fourth T20I in Bristol is now a must-win match for India. A loss would not only leave England with the series but also reignite the pressure on a team that has been struggling for consistency in recent weeks.
Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir have an even bigger challenge now than tactics. After a series loss in Ireland and the worst defeat in India's T20 history, the team needs to regain confidence and resilience quickly. India will have two more games to regain pride and show that Tuesday’s failure was far from an isolated incident and was part of a much bigger problem.
