India suffered a four wicket defeat in the second match of the five game T20 series against England, played at Old Trafford in Manchester, extending new captain Shreyas Iyer's wait for a first win at the helm.
India bat first, then let the match slip
After winning the toss, India chose to bat first and posted 190 runs in their 20 overs. England's chase did not start well, but an unbeaten innings of 76 runs from Jacob Bethell turned the match on its head and carried his side over the line with four wickets to spare. That innings effectively wrote the story of England's comeback and never allowed the Indian bowlers back into the contest.
An unwanted record for captain Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer, who took over India's T20 International captaincy in place of Suryakumar Yadav, now finds himself with a record no Indian skipper has carried before. Among Indian players who have captained the side in three or more T20 matches, Iyer has become the first to fail to win any of his first four games in charge. Alongside this, India have lost three consecutive completed T20 International matches for the first time since 2021, a stretch of results that raises real questions about the team's current form.
A whitewash against Ireland, now a series slipping away against England
Even before this series, Shreyas Iyer's captaincy had begun on a rough note, with India facing a clean sweep against Ireland for the first time. The opening match of this series against England, played at Chester le Street, was washed out by rain and ended without a result. With this second match now lost as well, the threat of losing the series to England looms large. If India are to claim the series, they will need to win all three of the remaining matches, a task that looks difficult given the team's current form and this run of defeats.
Next stop, Nottingham
The two sides will play the third match of the series on July 7 at the stadium in Nottingham. The biggest challenge for the team management and players now will be to halt this losing streak and keep alive any hope of a series comeback. The match is also significant for Shreyas Iyer personally, since he is yet to register a single win as India's T20 captain.
