‘Atrocious’ India sink to new low, as Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy under scanner
India script many unwanted records in humiliating defeat to England
Atrocious!
That was the term used by India’s new T20 skipper Shreyas Iyer to describe India’s shocking 125-run loss to England in the third of their five-match T20 series. The T20 world champions suffered their worst defeat in the format, in terms of runs, as they were blown away by the searing pace Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, who took seven wickets between them, to be dismissed for a dismal 76 in the 12th over. Tongue finished with career-best figures of 4-28 and Archer 3-29 as England went 2-0 up in the series with two to play after the opener was washed out.
Tuesday's result comfortably surpassed India's previous record run-loss in a T20 match, an 80-run defeat by New Zealand at Wellington in 2019.
It also followed India's shock 2-0 series reverse against Ireland in Belfast last month, extending their T20 winless streak to a record five matches.
"It was atrocious," Iyer told Sky Sports "I can't use a better word. Losing by such a big margin isn't acceptable."
"Hard lengths helped the bowlers on this wicket, but we didn't execute many. When you're chasing, you have to set patterns for how to chase.
"We fell short, our execution was awful," he added.
To add to India’s woes, the much-hyped inclusion of India’s 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in place of Sanju Samson hasn’t produced the desired result with the youngster making 14 and 13 in his two outings against England at the top of the order.
Iyer, who had taken over the T20 captaincy from Surya Kumar Yadav, has now lost all four completed T20I matches as skipper. His dismal run at the helm goes farther back to the Indian Premier League, where his side Punjab Kings were beaten in six of their last seven matches, meaning Iyer has now lost 10 out of his last 12 T20 matches as skipper.
His captaincy had already come under scrutiny following his decision to employ leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the 17th over in India’s last T20 match which went for 29-runs and turned the tide in England’s favour.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the middle-order batter also failed with the bat, making just 5 on Tuesday, before flicking an overpitched Archer delivery on the leg-stump straight to Jacob Bethell stationed in the deep, leaving India floundering at 41 for 4 in the fifth over
England can seal a series win with victory in the fourth T20 at Bristol on Thursday but Iyer said: "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 is) lots to learn as well."
