ODI Recap: India’s Six 10 Wicket Defeats, From 1981 to Now

In limited-overs cricket, it’s not often that a team loses by 10 wickets. This has only occurred six times in the ODI history of Team India.

It’s interesting to note that three of the six defeats by 10 wickets were in foreign conditions, while the other three were in their own backyard.

1981-10 wicket defeat vs New Zealand

In the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, this game was shortened to 34 overs per side. India’s first batsmen were successful in putting up 112/9 on the scoreboard. With 33, Gundappa Viswanath scored the most. Kapil Dev came in second place with 21. There were no other Indian batters who scored double digits. Martin Snedden, a right-arm medium fast bowler, and all-rounder Jeremy Coney each took two wickets. Incredibly, the Indian innings saw as many as three run-outs. Syed Kirmani, Kapil, and Viswanath were all left out. The Kiwi openers responded by putting on a strong performance. Bruce Edgar and John Wright, who went on to coach the Indian men’s senior team, put together an unbeaten 113-run partnership in 29 overs to hand India a 10 wicket defeat.

1997-10 wicket defeat vs West Indies

16 years later, India faced a 10-wicket defeat against the West Indies in their next ODI match. After that, India batted first after West Indies captain Courtney Walsh won the toss. India lost a portion of their side with 168 sudden spikes in demand for the board. India’s final score of 199/7 was primarily made up of Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, and Robin Singh, with Jadeja scoring the most runs with 68. In nine overs, Walshi took two wickets for just 26 runs. Otiis Gibson, Curtly Ambrose, Franklin Rose, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul each took one wicket. The Windies responded by starting with Chanderpaul and Stuart Williams, a right-handed batter who last played an ODI in May 1999. In 44.4 overs, the two put on an unbeaten 200-run stand. Then, India captain Sachin Tendulkar used as many as eight bowlers, including himself, Sourav Ganguly, Robin Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, Abey Kuruvila, Anil Kumble, Noel David, and Tendulkar himself. But no Indian bowler was able to break through, and the West Indies won by 10 wickets.

2000-10 wicket defeat vs South Africa

Three years later, Team India suffered its subsequent 10 wicket defeat in a Sharjah day and night match. Against the Proteas this time. India captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and chose to bat first in match one of the 2000 Coca-Cola Cup. However, Ganguly and the others were bowled out for 164 in 45.2 overs, and the Indian innings never really took off. Ajay Jadeja scored the most points with a 43°, while Javagal Srinath scored 30. Makhaya Ntini, right-arm fast medium bowler Steve Elworthy, and Jacques Kallis each took three wickets for the Proteas. Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje each took one wicket. In response, South Africa started with Gary Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs, who later helped India win the ODI World Cup in 2011. In 29.2 overs, Kirsten scored 71 runs and Gibbs scored 87 to create a 168-run, unbeaten first wicket partnership. Naturally, the outcome resulted in the Proteas winning by 10 wickets and earning 2 points.

2005-10 wicket defeat vs South Africa

South Africa pulled off an additional victory five years later. The Eden Gardens in Kolkata served as the setting for the fourth one-day international of South Africa’s tour of India. The captain of the Proteas, Graeme Smith, then won the toss and batted India. The only Indian batsman to score a half-century was Yuvraj Singh, who batted at number 6. India reached 188 in 45.5 overs thanks to the runs of Mohammed Kaif (46) and Virender Sehwag (30), who batted at number 4. For South Africa, Shaun Pollock and all-rounder Andrew Corridor took 3 wickets each. Smith and Hall served as captains for South Africa, who were aiming for a 189-point victory. Hall made 48 and Smith scored 134 for an unbeaten century. In 35.5 overs, the two scored 189 runs for the first wicket to win by 10 wickets.

2020-10 wicket defeat vs Australia

15 years later, India suffered its next 10-wicket defeat in an ODIO. The Australians were the opponents this time, and Team India was once more defeated at home. The Wankhede stadium in Mumbai served as the setting. Aaron Finch, the Australian skipper at the time, won the toss and put India in bat for the first ODI of Australia’s tour of India. The opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 74 runs, KL Rahul scored 47 runs at number three, and Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja scored 28 and 25 runs, respectively, to help the home team reach a respectable total of -255. Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson each took two wickets, while Mitchell Starc took three. Australia responded by fielding David Warner and Finch, both of whom scored centuries without defeat. Captain Finch made 110*, while Warner hit 128. In 37.4 overs, Australia won by 10 wickets to take a 1-0 series lead.

2023-10 wicket defeat vs Australia

After three years, it was the same. On Indian soil, Australia once again defeated India by ten wickets. India led 1-0 after the first match, making this the crucial second ODI of a three-match series. However, things simply did not go India’s way. Standard commander Rohit Sharma was once again in charge of undertakings, subsequent to missing the main ODI because of family responsibilities. Steve Smith, an interim captain for Australia, won the toss and requested that India bat first. India went from 32/2 to 117 all out in just 26 overs after losing their last 8 wickets for 85 runs. Virat Kohli top scored with 31 and Axar Patel made 29* and there were 14 additional items. No other batter was able to score more than 20 runs. Mitchell Starc, a left-arm pacer, was the one who really rocked India. He took 5/53 in 8 overs and won the Man of the Match award. In response, the Australians started with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, who put on an unbeaten 121-run opening wicket partnership in 11 overs. Marsh scored 66 points with six fours and six sixes, while Head scored 51 points with 10 boundaries. With one match remaining, Australia won by a more than comfortable 10 wickets to level the series at 1-1. On Wednesday, March 22, Chennai will host the series finale.