India's stand-in T20I captain Shreyas Iyer described his team's batting performance as "atrocious" and "unacceptable" following a crushing 125-run defeat against England in the third T20I at Nottingham on Tuesday. The loss leaves India 2-0 down in the five-match series, with the first match washed out, meaning India can at best draw the series.
Iyer's blunt assessment
"I think it was atrocious. I couldn't use a better word, honestly. Losing by such a big margin is definitely not acceptable," Iyer said after the match. He stressed the need to go back to the drawing board and address the batting collapse that saw India lose five wickets inside the powerplay while chasing 202.
"Looking at the wicket, I don't think that it was a 200-wicket, first of all, to start with. But other than that, the way we batted, we lost four (five) wickets in the powerplay. I think that itself created the momentum, and I definitely feel that we lost over there. So, we have got to go back to the drawing board," Iyer added.
England's dominant batting display
England, after being put in to bat, posted a formidable 201/7 in 20 overs. Opener Phil Salt top-scored with a 44-ball 70, hitting six fours and three sixes. He shared a 43-run opening stand with Jos Buttler, who made 36 off 21 balls before being dismissed by pacer Prince Yadav. Sam Curran's unbeaten 41 off 24 balls and Will Jacks' quick 14 off 7 balls provided the late impetus.
For India, Prince Yadav (2/30) and Harshit Rana (2/40) were the pick of the bowlers, while Axar Patel took one wicket.
India's batting collapse
Chasing 202, India got off to a promising start with Abhishek Sharma (10 off 7) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (13 off 5) hitting sixes, but the dismissal of both batsmen by Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer triggered a collapse. India slumped to 52/5 inside the powerplay and were eventually bowled out for 76 in 11.4 overs, their second-lowest all-out total in T20Is after 74 against Australia in 2008.
Only Ishan Kishan (13) and Axar Patel (10) reached double figures. Tongue finished with 4/28, Archer took 3/29, and spinner Adil Rashid claimed 2 wickets. Rashid also became England's fourth-highest international wicket-taker, surpassing Darren Gough, and moved to second on the all-time T20I wicket-takers list with 166 wickets, behind Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (193).
India's winless streak continues
This defeat marks India's biggest loss by runs in T20Is and extends their winless streak under Iyer's captaincy to five matches (four losses and one no result). India had earlier suffered a 2-0 series whitewash against Ireland. The team is still searching for its first win under Iyer after the removal of former captain Suryakumar Yadav due to poor form.
The fourth T20I is scheduled for July 9. Iyer urged his team to not dwell on the past and focus on creating impact and momentum. "There is no need to dwell on the past and players need to think about creating the impact and momentum required from them," he said.
