India vs Australia: 5 Indian captains who lost an ODI by 10 wickets
Captaincy in cricket can be a cruel and tough job at times, even for some legends of the game who have led their country to illustrious victories in their career. Though every skipper strives for their team to learn from defeats, recovering from a loss is never easy. In cricket, more than the defeat, the manner in which a team goes down can have a huge impact on the confidence of the squad.
Losing a game by 10 wickets can result in some very difficult questions to answer for the captain of the defeated unit. The Indian team has been defeated by 10 wickets in five ODIs, with the first such loss coming in 1981. The latest Indian skipper to enter this unfortunate list is surprisingly the captain with one of the highest win percentages in ODI history, Virat Kohli. The article below contains the list of matches lost by Indian captains by 10 wickets.
#5 Virat Kohli, India vs Australia, 2020
This game is the best example of how even a minor tactical decision in tactics can change the entire complexion of a match. Due to the availability of three world-class openers, Kohli was forced to accommodate all of them in the starting eleven and decided to sacrifice his number 3 position for the team’s welfare. After being put in by the Aussies, India lost Rohit Sharma early but a century partnership between Dhawan and KL Rahul steadied the ship.
KL Rahul did a decent job in his new position but on a placid wicket, he should have gone on to register a century, similar to what Kohli does. Instead he fell for 47 and Kohli did not last long in his new role. Dhawan’s half century and decent contributions from Pant and Jadeja took India to a score of 255.
In reply, the Aussies absolutely pummelled the Indian bowling attack and raced away to a score of to 84/0 in the powerplay. Finch and Warner’s ruthless aggression silenced the crowd and the Indians suffered a rare humiliation on their home soil. Kohli admitted he will rethink his strategy in the next match where a victory for Australia would mean back-to-back ODI series success against India away from home.