India lost their World No.1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings after their 4-0 loss to England in the five-match series. England catapulted India in the fifth T20I after amassing 257/3 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton.
New Delhi:
India's recent slump in the T20Is has a new low point as the two-time defending world champions lost their World No.1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings after their 4-0 loss to England. Asked to chase a mammoth 258 for an unlikely win at the Rose Bowl, Southampton, the visitors were restricted to 201/8 as they lost the final rubber by 56 runs to remain winless in the UK.
Shreyas Iyer's team has now gone winless across all seven games that they have played in the UK (two in Ireland and five in England). Since their successful title defence four months ago, they have lost a two-match rubber to Ireland 2-0 and were blanked by the Three Lions 4-0 in a five-match series, with one game being washed out. The latest defeat saw the Men in Blue not just failing to bag a single win but also losing out on their long reign at the top of the world in the T20I rankings.
India have been dethroned from the No.1 spot in the T20I rankings by England, as the Men in Blue fell from the top spot for the first time after more than 1600 days. India's run at the helm began in February 2022, a period during which they were semifinalists once and twice the T20 World Cup champions.
England's rise to the top under Brook
England now hold the top place in the T20I rankings with 268 ratings and 10186 points in 38 matches. India have 268 ratings and 15532 points in 58 matches after their recent defeat in Southampton. England have been on a meteoric rise since Harry Brook took over the white-ball captaincy from Jos Buttler last summer.
Brook has led England to 18 wins in the 21 completed matches that he has been in charge of the Three Lions. This included a semifinal run in the 2026 World Cup, where Brook's men came within touching distance of chasing a mammoth 254 at Wankhede.
India catapulted yet again
England catapulted India in the fifth T20I. After opting to bowl first, the bowlers were put to the sword by Jos Buttler and Brook, both of whom put up a mammoth 233-run partnership for the second wicket. The two took the Indian bowlers to the cleaners with Axar Patel, Prince Yadav, Suryansh Shedge and Shivam Dube. The 12 overs from these four bowlers went for 182 runs with only two wickets as the Men in Blue had a horror day with the ball.
This was the first time that India conceded a total in excess of 250 in the format. The previous highest also belonged to the Three Lions, with that 246/7 coming in agony. The 233-run stand by Buttler and Brook is also by far the highest against India for any wicket, surpassing the previous highest of 174, which Quinton de Kock and David Miller had combined for the fourth wicket in a match in 2022.
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