India's T20I Slide Continues: Series Loss to Both Ireland and England

India have now lost back-to-back bilateral T20I series on this white-ball tour, first to Ireland and then to England, a run that has raised real questions about the side's form in the format.

The tour opened in Belfast, where Ireland stunned India 2-0. The Irish won the series opener by 34 runs, posting 182 for 9 and bowling India out for 148. They then held their nerve in a thriller in the second match, defending 154 for 8 to win by just 1 run as India fell short at 153 for 9. It was India's first-ever bilateral T20I series defeat to Ireland.

The tour moved on to England, and the slide got worse. The series opener in Chester-le-Street was washed out by rain with India having posted 189 for 7. England then took control, winning in Manchester by 4 wickets, before handing India their biggest-ever T20I defeat by runs, a 125-run hammering in Nottingham where India were bowled out for just 76. A 9-wicket loss in Bristol sealed the series 3-0 with a match to spare, and England completed a 4-0 sweep with a 56-run win in the fifth T20I at Southampton, where Jos Buttler's 131 and an unbeaten 95 from Harry Brook powered England to 257 for 3, their highest-ever T20I total against India.

Together, the two results mean India have now lost consecutive bilateral T20I series for the first time since 2019. Captain Shreyas Iyer remains without a series win since taking over, and head coach Gautam Gambhir has pointed to a young, transitioning side as the reason for the rough patch.

Attention now turns to the 50-over leg of the England tour, with the three-match ODI series starting July 14 at Edgbaston, giving India a chance to arrest the slide before a packed white-ball year ahead.