IND v AUS 2020: How have India lost 7 successive international matches?
India lost the 3-match ODI series against Australia after being handed a 51-run defeat in the second ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday (November 29). The dead rubber will be played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday (December 2).
Even if the coronavirus-enforced lockdown makes it seem like India are back on the international arena after a lifetime, fans won’t forget that the Men in Blue lost their seventh successive match across formats – only for the second time in their cricketing history.
The last time the Indian team went through a similar lean patch was 18 years ago. After losing the ODI series decider at home to the West Indies, Sourav Ganguly’s side had a forgettable 2002/03 tour of New Zealand. They were whitewashed 0-2 in the Test series, following which India were beaten in the first four ODIs to eventually lose the series 2-5.
History almost repeated itself in inverted fashion as India had a sorrowful experience in New Zealand earlier this year, followed by the ongoing drubbing at the hands of Australia. After winning the T20I series 5-0, India were clean swept in the ensuing ODI and Test series in February-March this year.
In essence, Virat Kohli’s side would go into the final ODI against Australia to prevent an unprecedented eighth successive defeat and a third consecutive series whitewash.
We now chronologically recap India’s seven back-to-back losses, which were intervened by an eight-and-half month hiatus owing to COVID-19.
1. India v New Zealand 1st ODI - Hamilton - February 5, 2020
Brief scorecard: India 347/4 (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88*, Tim Southee 2/85, Colin de Grandhomme 1/41) lost to New Zealand 348/6 (Ross Taylor 109*, Henry Nicholls 78, Kuldeep Yadav 2/84, Mohammed Shami 1/63) by 6 wickets and 11 balls to spare
Man of the Match: Ross Taylor (109* off 84 balls)
2. India v New Zealand 2nd ODI - Auckland - February 8, 2020
Brief Scorecard: New Zealand 273/8 (Martin Guptill 79, Ross Taylor 73*, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/58, Shardul Thakur 2/60) beat India 251 all out (Ravindra Jadeja 55, Shreyas Iyer 52, Tim Southee 2/41, Kyle Jamieson 2/42) by 22 runs
Man of the Match: Kyle Jamieson (10-1-42-2)
3. India v New Zealand 3rd ODI - Mount Maunganui - February 11, 2020
Brief scorecard: India 296/7 (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62, Hamish Bennett 4/64, Kyle Jamieson 1/53) lost to New Zealand 300/5 (Henry Nicholls 80, Colin de Grandhomme 58*, Yuzvendra Chahal 3/47, Ravindra Jadeja 1/45) by 5 wickets
Man of the Match: Henry Nicholls (80 off 103 balls)
4. India v New Zealand 1st Test - Wellington - February 21 to 24, 2020
Brief scorecard: India 165 all out (Ajinkya Rahane 46, Kyle Jamieson 4/39) & 191 all out (Mayank Agarwal 58, Tim Southee 5/61) lost to New Zealand 348 all out (Kane Williamson 89, Ishant Sharma 5/68) & 9/0 (Tom Latham 7*, Tom Blundell 2*) by 10 wickets
Man of the Match: Tim Southee (41.1-11-110-9)
5. India v New Zealand 2nd Test - Christchurch - February 29 to March 2, 2020
Brief scorecard: India 242 all out (Hanuma Vihari 55, Kyle Jamieson 5/45) & 124 all out (Cheteshwar Pujara 24, Trent Boult 4/28) lost to New Zealand 235 all out (Tom Latham 52, Mohammed Shami 4/81) & 132/3 (Tom Blundell 55, Jasprit Bumrah 2/39) by 7 wickets
Man of the Match: Kyle Jamieson (22-7-63-5)
6. India v Australia 1st ODI - Sydney - November 27, 2020
Brief scorecard: Australia 374/6 (Aaron Finch 114, Steve Smith 105, Mohammed Shami 3/59, Jasprit Bumrah 1/73) beat India 308/8 (Hardik Pandya 90, Shikhar Dhawan 74, Adam Zampa 4/54, Josh Hazlewood 3/55) by 66 runs
Man of the Match: Steve Smith (105 off 66 balls)
7. India v Australia 2nd ODI - Sydney - November 29, 2020
Brief scorecard: Australia 389/4 (Steve Smith 104, David Warner 83, Mohammed Shami 1/73, Jasprit Bumrah 1/79) beat India 338/9 (Virat Kohli 89, KL Rahul 76, Pat Cummins 3/67, Adam Zampa 2/62) by 51 runs
Man of the Match: Steve Smith (104 off 64 balls)