Did India ever lose to Zimbabwe before IND vs ZIM 1st T20I in 2024?
Team India suffered a shocking 13-run defeat in the opening game of the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 6. Despite fielding a second-string side, the Men in Blue failed to chase a below-par 116 and finished on 102 all-out in 19.5 overs.
The result was surprising considering India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph only last week, albeit with a different set of players, and the lowly Zimbabwe not even qualifying for the event. Such was the magnitude of the upset that fans wondered if Team India had ever lost a T20I game to Zimbabwe.
Well, the answer to that is a big 'yes'. This was the third time the African nation upstaged India in a T20I encounter in nine meetings. While the Men in Blue won the first three matches between the sides, Zimbabwe won back-to-back clashes in 2015 and 2016.
However, the two-time T20I World Champions regained the upper hand with another hattrick of wins, including the recent one in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Yet, Zimbabwe ended that streak today with a magnificent bowling performance to take a 1-0 series lead with four games remaining.
The 116 was the lowest-ever total defended against India in T20Is and India's lowest T20I score since 2016.
Zimbabwe have also beaten India in the other two formats
India and Zimbabwe have a much deeper history in the ODI and Test formats, with the sides playing each other since 1983.
Despite being the lower-ranked team, Zimbabwe were renowned for upsetting the Indians regularly in the 1990s and the early 2000s. However, the Men in Blue last lost to the African side in the 50-over format in 2010. Since then, the two-time World Champions have defeated the Zimbabwean outfit 15 consecutive times to hold a 54-10 overall edge in ODIs.
Zimbabwe's most famous ODI win over India came in the 1999 World Cup and they even ran India close in a home series in 2002, losing 2-3.
The two teams have also faced each other in 11 Tests, with India winning 7, Zimbabwe 2, and 2 draws. The first meeting between the sides ended in a draw in 1992 and Zimbabwe won two other Tests in Harare in 1998 and 2001.
Yet, with Zimbabwe's sheen going off in the longest format, the two teams last met in a five-day contest almost two decades back in 2005. Overall, Zimbabwe have beaten India 15 times across formats.