Shreyas Iyer‘s wait for a maiden victory as India’s T20I captain continued on Saturday after England handed the visitors a 56-run defeat in the fifth and final T20I at the Rose Bowl. The loss extended Iyer’s winless run to seven consecutive T20Is as captain, placing him on an unwanted list of skippers from Full Member nations who failed to win any of their first seven matches in charge. Only Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera had previously endured similar starts to their T20I captaincy careers.
Captains winless in their first seven T20Is (Full Member teams)
| Captain | Team |
|---|---|
| Brendan Taylor | Zimbabwe |
| Elton Chigumbura | Zimbabwe |
| Thisara Perera | Sri Lanka |
| Shreyas Iyer | India |
England completed a dominant 4-0 series sweep after posting a daunting 257 for 3, powered by Jos Buttler‘s stunning 131 from 64 balls and Harry Brook’s unbeaten 95 off 45 deliveries. The pair put together 233 runs for the second wicket, the highest partnership for any wicket in men’s T20I history, leaving India’s bowlers with no answers. Buttler struck 12 fours and eight sixes to register the highest score of his T20I career, while Brook fell just five runs short of a deserved century. India’s bowlers struggled throughout the innings. Axar Patel leaked 63 runs in four overs, Prince Yadav conceded 60 from his spell and debutant Suryansh Shedge, brought into the side after Harshit Rana’s injury, also came under heavy attack. Chasing 258, India produced their best batting display of the UK T20I leg but never threatened the target. Ishan Kishan made 56 from 35 balls and Tilak Varma hit 53 off just 25 deliveries, but the visitors eventually finished on 201 for 8. The defeat capped a disappointing tour for India, who failed to win a single T20I in the series under Iyer’s leadership. England’s victory also ended India’s 1,601-day reign at the top of the ICC men’s T20I team rankings. For Iyer, the result added another unwanted chapter to the start of his captaincy stint, with his search for a first T20I victory now stretching to seven matches.
