India suffered a humbling defeat against England by 9 wickets at the County Ground, Bristol on Thursday (July 9), thus relinquishing the bilateral series
3-0 with a game to play.
This marks England's first bilateral T20I series victory over India in a multi-match contest, as India suffered consecutive bilateral T20I series defeats for only second time in their history.
India, batting first after a shaky series, managed 158/7 in 20 overs. Shreyas Iyer top-scored with an unbeaten 80, but the innings lacked momentum on a surface where the ball held at times. England's bowlers, led by their pace and spin variety, kept things tight. Chasing 159, England made light work of the target. Phil Salt (59 off 42) and captain Harry Brook (79 off 35)* forged a record 146* opening stand, dismantling India's attack with aggressive strokeplay and innovative shots. Brook, in sublime touch, smashed boundaries all around the ground, including massive sixes. Arshdeep Singh took 1 wicket but leaked runs as the chase ended in anti-climactic fashion.
India's campaign has been dismal, with back-to-back series defeats. Earlier against England, they lost the 2nd and 3rd match while the first match was washed out. India lost to Ireland 2-0 in a shocking manner as well. They must regroup for the final T20I to avoid a whitewash. England, unbeaten in most recent T20Is, confirmed their status as a top white-ball side.
IND vs ENG: Fans React in Vehement Fashion
After the defeat, the fans took social media and bashed head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer. There have been decisions which have disgruntled the fans, and after this dismal defeat, they went into meltdown.
Fans have asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to appoint Gambhir as an Education Minister in a hilarious post.
Dear BJP make Gautam Gambhir India's Education Minister. Atleast Cricket will be saved.
- Sunil The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) July 9, 2026
Requesting Mukesh Ambani to hire BJP leader Gautam Gambhir as coach/consultant/manager/advisor of Mumbai Indians asap so that Team India gets rid of this pandemic like man turning every match for team India into a forgettable experience and bringing defeats in all formats as a…
- Vinay Kumar Dokania (@VinayDokania) July 9, 2026
"This is a transition phase. We'll make mistakes, but it's about learning quickly and adapting to overseas conditions. I'm confident this team will bounce back soon," said Shreyas Iyer after the match. But fans are taking none of that.
Shreyas Iyer said This is a transition phase, we will be making mistakes it's about learning quickly & adapting to the overseas conditions
- Aarvika🌸 (@AarvikAA1) July 9, 2026
What transition Bro ????? 🤣
Only Excuses 🤭🤭#ShreyasIyer #GautamGambhir #ENGvsIND pic.twitter.com/mPnntFCSao
"Shreyas Iyer again talking nonsense during the post-match presentation calling this as the transition phase for
India in T20i cricket. 9 players were part of the T20 World Cup-winning team - you don't call that transition. You call it humiliation," a fan named Nikhil Ram wrote on X.
Surya Kumar Yadav took 2 years for losing 5 T-20 matches, Shreyas Iyer has done it in 2 weeks .
- Sunil The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) July 9, 2026
Well done Gautam Gambhir 👏. He will ensure Indian team breaks all the records of losing in every country. When a player is dropped for poor performance, why not coach? If India has any chance of winning the world cup next year, he needs to go. ,#indvseng #t20 @BCCI 🇮🇳
- manish sharma (@manish4714) July 9, 2026
This fan wants Suryakumar Yadav back as India's T20 captain, but wants to keep Shreyas as toss captain.
Change rules so we can have shreyas iyer as captain at the toss and surya as captain on field 😂
- ICEFIREPLAYZFCMOBILE (@Icefire297) July 9, 2026
Washington Sundar should not even come close to the Indian white ball cricket team! Every Indian understands this, except the selfless Gautam Gambhir!!! #EngvsInd
- Rai Vinaykumar (@RaiVinayKumar) July 9, 2026
Absolute disaster from Gautam Gambhir! This man inherited a world-champion T20 side and managed to completely break it in a matter of weeks. Losing a bilateral series 0-2 to Ireland is an unforgivable stain on Indian cricket history. He talks big about aggression, but his… pic.twitter.com/HqkzSskkqy
- 40_Balls_50 (@Hitler_2024) July 9, 2026
