ODI Recap, from 1981 to now: India’s six 10-wicket defeats | Cricket News

It’s not very often that a team goes down by a 10-wicket margin in limited overs cricket. For Team India this has happened only six times in their ODI history.
Interestingly three of the six 10 wicket defeats were inflicted by opposition teams in foreign conditions, while three were faced at home in their own backyard.

TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at the six times that Team India has lost an ODI by 10 wickets:
1. 1981 – 10 wicket defeat vs New Zealand
This was a shortened game in the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, with a maximum of 34 overs per side. India batting first managed to put up 112/9 on the scoreboard. Gundappa Viswanath was the top scorer with 33. The next highest was Kapil Dev with 21. No other Indian batter reached double digits. All-rounder Jeremy Coney and right arm medium fast bowler Martin Snedden took 2 wickets each. Incredibly, there were as many as three run-outs in the Indian innings. Viswanath, Kapil and Syed Kirmani were all run-out. In response the Kiwi openers put on a solid display. John Wright, who later went on to coach the Indian men’s senior team, and Bruce Edgar put on an unbeaten 113 run stand in 29 overs to hand India a 10 wicket drubbing.
2. 1997 – 10 wicket defeat vs West Indies
The next time India faced a 10 wicket loss in ODIs was 16 years later and this time it was against the West Indies. Then West Indies captain Courtney Walsh won the toss and put India into bat. India lost half their side with 168 runs on the board. Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh were the main contributors to India’s final score of 199/7, with Jadeja top scoring with 68. Walshi took 2 wickets for just 26 runs in 9 overs. Curtly Ambrose, Otiis Gibson, Franklin Rose and Shivnarine Chanderpaul took 1 wicket apiece. In response, the Windies opened with Stuart Williams, a right handed batter who played his last ODI in May 1999, and Chanderpaul. The two put on an unbeaten 200 run stand in 44.4 overs. Then India captain Sachin Tendulkar used as many as 8 bowlers – Venkatesh Prasad, Abey Kuruvila, Anil Kumble, Noel David, Robin Singh, Sourav Ganguly, himself and Ajay Jadeja. However, no Indian bowler could get a breakthrough, as the Windies completed a 10 wicket win.
3. 2000 – 10 wicket defeat vs South Africa
The next 10 wicket loss for Team India was three years later, in a day and night match in Sharjah. This time it was against the Proteas. This was match number 1 of the Coca Cola Cup of 2000 and India captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and elected to bat first. The Indian innings however never really took off as Ganguly and co. were bowled out for 164 in 45.2 overs. Ajay Jadeja top scored with 43* and Javagal Srinath made 30. For the Proteas, Makhaya Ntini and right arm fast medium bowler Steve Elworthy took 3 wickets each, Jacques Kallis took 2 wickets, while Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje took 1 wicket each . In response, South Africa opened with Gary Kirsten, who later went on to coach India to the 2011 ODI World Cup title and Herschelle Gibbs. Kirsten made 71* and Gibbs scored 87* to forge a 168 run unbeaten opening wicket stand in 29.2 overs. The result of course meant a 10 wicket win for the Proteas and also 2 points.

4. 2005 – 10 wicket defeat vs South Africa
Five years later South Africa pulled off an encore. This time it was in the 4th ODI of South Africa’s tour of India and the venue was the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Then Protea skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and put India into bat. Yuvraj Singh, batting at number 6, was the only Indian batter to get a half-century. Mohammed Kaif made 46 and Virender Sehwag, batting at number 4, made 30, as India got to 188 in 45.5 overs. For South Africa, Shaun Pollock and all-rounder Andrew Hall took 3 wickets each. South Africa, chasing 189 to win, opened with their captain Smith and Hall. Smith cracked an unbeaten century, scoring 134*, while Hall made 48*. The two put on 189 runs for the first wicket in 35.5 overs to complete an emphatic 10 wicket win.
5. 2020 – 10 wicket defeat vs Australia
The next instance of India losing an ODIO by a 10 wicket margin was 15 years later. The opposition this time were the Australians and once again Team India was humbled at home. The venue was the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. This was the 1st ODI of Australia’s tour of India and Aaron Finch, the then Aussie skipper, won the toss and put India into bat. The home team put up a decent total on the board – 255, thanks largely to a 74 run knock by opener Shikhar Dhawan, 47 by KL Rahul at number three and 28 and 25 run knocks by Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. Mkitchell Starc took 3 wickets, while Pat Cummins and Kane Richardson took 2 each. In response, Australia opened with David Warner and Finch and both openers scored unbeaten centuries. Warner smashed 128*, while captain Finch made 110*. Australia wrapped up a 10 wicket win in 37.4 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
6. 2023 – 10 wicket defeat vs Australia
Three years later, it was deja vu. Australia beat India once again by 10 wickets on Indian soil. This time the match was the crucial second ODI of a three match series, with India leading 1-0 after the first. Things however just didn’t go India’s way. Regular captain Rohit Sharma was back at the helm of affairs, after missing the first ODI due to family commitments. Stand-in Aussie captain Steve Smith won the toss and asked India to bat first. India lost their last 8 wickets for just 85 runs, crashing from 32/2 to 117 all out in just 26 overs. Virat Kohli top scored with 31
and Axar Patel made 29* and there were 14 extras. No other batter could touch the 20 run mark. The man who really rocked India was left arm pacer Mitchell Starc, who took 5/ 53 in 8 overs and later walked away with the Man of the match award. In reply, the Aussies opened with Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh and the two put on an unbeaten 121 run opening wicket stand in 11 overs. Head made 51*, with 10 boundaries, while Marsh scored 66*, with 6 fours and 6 sixes. Australia wrapped up a more than comfortable 10 wicket win to level the series at 1-1, with one match left to play. The series decider will be played in Chennai on March 22, Wednesday.
India’s six 10-wicket defeats in ODIs:

Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar