India captain Shreyas Iyer labelled his team’s performance “atrocious” after a record 125-run defeat to England in the third T20I, admitting poor execution led to their heaviest-ever loss by runs in men’s T20Is.
India's captain Shreyas Iyer (PC: IANS)
India captain Shreyas Iyer did not mince his words after his side slumped to a humiliating 125-run defeat against England in the third T20I, describing the team’s performance as “atrocious” and admitting their execution was “awful.”
England produced a clinical all-round display to hand India their heaviest-ever defeat by runs in men’s T20Is, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series after the opening match was washed out.
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“I think it was atrocious. I couldn’t use a better word, honestly,” Iyer said at the post-match press conference.
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“Losing by such a big margin is definitely not acceptable. First things first, we need to accept this loss, go back to the drawing board and understand what we did wrong.”
Reflecting on the match, Iyer felt the pitch did not warrant a 200-plus total but admitted India’s batting collapse in the powerplay proved decisive.
“Looking at the wicket, I don’t think it was a 200-run wicket. But the way we batted, losing four wickets in the powerplay meant we never created any momentum. I think that’s where we lost the game.”
Asked to bat first, England posted an imposing 201/7, powered by Phil Salt’s fluent 70 off 44 balls before Sam Curran provided the late flourish with a 24-ball 41.
India’s chase never got going as England’s pace attack ripped through the batting order, bowling the visitors out for just 76 in 11.4 overs.
Iyer also pointed to India’s inability to adapt to the conditions.
“You can make all the plans in the team meeting, but once you get to the ground, you have to adapt quickly. Today, the hard lengths were helping the bowlers, and I don’t think we executed that well.”
“And even while chasing 200, you need to pace your innings and have a clear pattern for how you’re going to approach the chase. We fell short in that aspect as well. Our execution was awful.”
Although England have now ensured they cannot lose the series, with two matches still to play, Iyer urged his teammates to respond by taking greater individual responsibility.
“We’ve played awful cricket, no doubt, but there are learnings from it. Every player has to think about how they can make an impact, create momentum for the team and take responsibility for winning matches,” he concluded.
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