T20I Records: Team with the most consecutive defeats in T20Is

T20 Internationals is a very dynamic format and it is the toughest format to maintain consistency. T20Is or even T20s have witnessed teams losing a match in the space of 2-3 deliveries. In this article, we will take a look at the teams with the most consecutive defeats in T20Is. 

Consecutive defeats in T20Is

Zimbabwe holds the record for the most consecutive defeats in T20Is. From 2010 to 2013 they lost 16 T20I matches in a row. The record was previously held by Bangladesh with 12 defeats in a row. 

ICC World Twenty20, 2010

Vs Sri Lanka

Zimbabwe’s infamous streak of defeats in T20Is started against Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010. Winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat first. It was Mahela Jayawardene who took the game away from Zimbabwe despite a solid bowling effort. Jayawardene scored a century while the next best score was 23 runs from Thisara Perera. Sri Lanka scored 173 runs in the first innings for the loss of 7 wickets. For Zimbabwe, Ray Price and Greg Lamb took two wickets each.

During the innings break, it started to rain which meant that only a five-over second innings was possible. The target for Zimbabwe was 44 runs which they failed to achieve. Ajantha Mendis from Sri Lanka was the pick of the bowlers conceding only nine runs in his two overs.

Vs New Zealand

Zimbabwe’s next defeat came against New Zealand courtesy of a splendid spell from Nathan McCullum. Having won the toss, New Zealand elected to field first. Tim Southee picked up the first wicket of Tatenda Taibu. It was in the ninth over when Zimbabwe lost the match. Nathan picked up three wickets of Elton Chigumbura, Charles Coventry and Craig Ervine. After that Scott Styris and skipper, Daniel Vettori cleaned up the tail to bowl out Zimbabwe for just 84 runs. 

New Zealand had scored 36 runs for the loss of one wicket in 8.1 overs when once again rain interrupted. New Zealand at that time were six runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score and hence won the match when the game was called off.

India tour of Zimbabwe

Vs India (1st T20I)

After a disappointing Twenty20 World Cup, India toured Zimbabwe for an ODI Tri-Series with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and followed it up with two T20Is against Zimbabwe. India decided to field first in the first T20I against Zimbabwe. Vinay Kumar from India led the bowling charge picking up three wickets while Ashok Dinda and Pragyan Ojha picked up two wickets each. Ojha also bowled miserly conceding only 11 runs in his four overs. The Indian bowlers contained Zimbabwe to a score of just 111 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs.

India lost early wickets and at one stage were 48/4. Virat Kohli and Yousuf Pathan sealed the victory for India by making sure no other wickets fell. Pathan scored 37 runs in 24 balls hitting three sixes and two fours. 

Vs India (2nd T20I)

It was a much-improved batting effort from the Zimbabwean batters in the second T20I. Tatenda Taibu scored 45 runs in 40 balls while Charles Coventry scored 28 runs in just 13 balls. Skipper, Elton Chigumbura too played a quickfire cameo scoring 18 runs in just 6 balls. For India, Ashok Dinda picked up two wickets while Pragyan Ojha, Amit Mishra and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up one wicket each.

Leading the Indian team in this tour, Suresh Raina won the match for India. Raina scored 72 runs in 44 balls hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes. Murali Vijay missed out on his half-century as he was dismissed by Chamu Chibhabha after scoring 46 runs in 39 balls. India won the match by 7 wickets with 12 balls left.

Zimbabwe tour of South Africa

Vs South Africa (1st T20I)

Zimbabwe toured to South Africa in October 2010. The visitors won the toss in the first T20I and decided to bat first. Opening the innings, Hamilton Masakadza played an anchor innings as he scored 72 runs in 63 balls. Chamu Chibhabha scored 52 runs in just 32 balls to get Zimbabwe to a total of 168 runs. For South Africa, Wayne Parnell took two wickets dismissing Brendan Taylor and Chibhabha.

Chasing 169 runs, opener Graeme Smith scored 58 runs in 29 balls hitting nine fours and two sixes. His opening partner, Loots Bosman scored 33 runs in 15 balls. JP Duminy and David Miller finished the match for South Africa scoring 35 and 36 runs respectively. South Africa won the match by 7 wickets with 25 balls remaining.

Vs South Africa (2nd T20I)

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the second T20I. Graeme Smith once again started the innings with a high strike rate. Smith scored 46 runs in just 29 balls hitting 7 fours and 1 six. JP Duminy’s knock of 96 runs in 54 balls propelled South Africa to a total of 194 runs. Duminy smashed 10 fours and 4 sixes in his knock. For Zimbabwe, Prosper Utseya and Shingi Masakadza picked up two wickets each. 

Zimbabwe had a huge target of 195 runs in front of them in the second innings. Hamilton Masakadza was the first batter to be dismissed by left-arm fast bowler, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Brendan Taylor and Chamu Chibhabha shared a century stand for the second wicket. Taylor and Chibhabha scored 59 runs each. Taylor scored 59 runs in 39 balls hitting 4 fours and 3 sixes. Chibhabha played his knock of 59 runs in 41 balls hitting 6 fours and 2 sixes. Skipper, Elton Chigumbura scored 26 runs in just 15 balls. Chigumbura was run out in an unfortunate manner. He smashed a full toss to deep point which could have been easily hit for a boundary. He tried running a second run which was never there and was run out in the penultimate over of the chase. Zimbabwe lost the match by nine runs.

Pakistan tour of Zimbabwe

Vs Pakistan (1st T20I)

In the first T20I, Zimbabwe won the toss and decided to bowl first. Pakistani openers got off to a great start and scored 72 runs in the first six overs. Asad Shafiq was the first to be dismissed. The right-handed batter scored 38 runs in 23 balls. But it was Mohammad Hafeez who was the star performer for Pakistani batting innings. Hafeez scored 71 runs in 48 balls hitting 6 fours and three sixes. Umar Akmal scored 22 runs in just 11 balls hitting 4 fours. Sohail Tanvir scored 17 runs in just five balls lower down the order. Kyle Jarvis, Ray Price and Chamu Chibhabha took one wicket each as Pakistan scored 198 runs for the loss of four wickets.

Chasing 199 runs, Zimbabwe batters never looked comfortable during the chase. They lost six wickets with just 77 runs on the board. Hafeez after performing with the bat in the first innings took four wickets in the second innings. Zimbabwe was bowled out for just 113 runs and lost the match by 85 runs.

Vs Pakistan (2nd T20I)

Pakistan decided to bat first in the second T20I after winning the toss. Mohammad Hafeez once again scored a very important half-century. The all-rounder scored 51 runs in 38 balls hitting 5 fours and 1 six. The second-best score from the Pakistani batting lineup came from Umar Akmal scoring 28 runs in 32 balls. Kyle Jarvis was the pick of the bowlers taking three wickets in his four overs. The Zimbabwean bowlers restricted Pakistan to a score of just 141 runs in 20 overs.

Zimbabwe once again started poorly with the bat losing six wickets with just 71 runs on the board. Hafeez once again proved his mettle as an all-rounder and picked three wickets. Tatenda Taibu and Elton Chigumbura shared a 38-run stand for the 7th wicket and almost put an end to Zimbabwe’s losing streak. Chigumbura scored 24 runs in 18 balls and was dismissed by Sohail Tanvir. After Chigumbura’s wicket, the Pakistani bowler put a halt to the hosts’ innings and won the match by five runs.

New Zealand tour of Zimbabwe

Vs New Zealand (1st T20I)

Zimbabwe hosted New Zealand for a two-match T20I series along with three ODIs and a solitary test. Having won the toss, New Zealand elected to bowl first and was successful in restricting Zimbabwe to a low score. Skipper’s Brendan Taylor half-century wasn’t enough as he received very little support from the other batters. The hosts made 123 runs in 20 overs. Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum picked up two wickets each for New Zealand.

New Zealand chased down the total without losing a single wicket as opener Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill made scores of 81 and 40 respectively. Brendon was given the Man of the Match award for his knock of 81 runs in just 46 balls hitting 5 fours and 6 sixes.

Vs New Zealand (2nd T20I)

Zimbabwe won the toss in the second T20I and elected to field first. Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill started right from where they left in the first T20I. The duo shared a 120-run opening stand. It was not just the sixes that rained at Harare that day as the rain made an interruption and reduced the game to an 18-over per side contest. Brendon scored 64 runs in 37 balls hitting 2 fours and 6 sixes while Guptill on the other hand scored 67 runs in 46 balls hitting 7 fours and 2 sixes. New Zealand scored a whopping 187 runs in their 18 overs to give Zimbabwe an adjusted DLS target of 189 runs. Kyle Jarvis was the sole wicket-taker from Zimbabwe. He picked up two wickets.

Opening the innings, Chamu Chibhabha started strongly. Chibhabha scored 65 runs in just 39 balls hitting 4 fours and 5 sixes. Elton Chigumbura scored the second-most runs with a knock of 39 runs in 22 balls. With no other substantial contribution, Zimbabwe was bowled out for just 154 runs as Doug Bracewell and Nathan McCullum picked up three wickets each.

Zimbabwe tour of New Zealand

Vs New Zealand (1st T20I)

After hosting New Zealand in late 2011, Zimbabwe toured the Black Caps in February 2012. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first in the first match. Zimbabwe scored 159 runs with Hamilton Masakadza top-scoring with 53 runs followed by Elton Chigumbura with 48 runs in just 24 balls. Left-arm fast bowler, Michael Bates took three wickets for the hosts.

New Zealand chased down the target of 160 runs in just 16.5 overs with Martin Guptill scoring 91 runs in 54 balls.

Vs New Zealand (2nd T20I)

In the second T20I, the visitors once again decided to bat first. Hamilton Masakadza scored 62 runs in 42 balls but it was skipper, Brendan Taylor who stole the show for the visitors. Taylor scored 75 runs in 43 balls hitting 6 fours and 3 sixes. Zimbabwe ended up with a total of 200 runs.

New Zealand once again chased down the target courtesy of James Franklin’s knock of 60 runs. Opening the innings, Franklin scored 60 runs in just 37 balls hitting 3 fours and 5 sixes. Kane Williamson provided the finishing touch to the innings scoring 20 runs in just 5 balls hitting 3 fours and 1 six. The hosts won the match by 5 wickets with 2 balls remaining.

ICC World Twenty20, 2012

Vs Sri Lanka 

Zimbabwe played the opening game of ICC World Twenty20, 2012 against the hosts Sri Lanka at Hambantota. Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka scored 182 runs in the first innings. Kumar Sangakkara scored 44 runs in just 26 hitting 2 fours and 1 six. Jeevan Mendis scored 43 runs in 30 balls hitting 4 fours and 1 six. Graeme Cremer was the lone wicket-taker for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean batters had no answers for Ajantha Mendis’s mystery spin. The mystery spinner picked up 6 wickets in his 4 overs while conceding just 8 runs. Zimbabwe was bowled out for just 100 runs and lost the match by 82 runs.

Vs South Africa

South Africa won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Proteas’ fast bowlers restricted Zimbabwe to just 93 runs in 2o overs. Craig Ervine top scored with 37 runs in 40 balls. For South Africa Jacques Kallis picked up 4 wickets in his 4 overs. The South African batters chased down the target of 94 runs without losing a single wicket.

Zimbabwe tour of West Indies

Vs West Indies (1st T20I)

After losing their only two games in ICC World Twenty20, in 2012, Zimbabwe toured West Indies. In the first T20I, Zimbabwe elected to bat first. Malcolm Waller top scored with 49 runs in just 34 balls. Zimbabwe scored 130 runs in the first innings. For West Indies, Tino Best took three wickets while Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo just two wickets each.

West Indies chased down the target with the loss of just two wickets. Lendl Simmons scored 63 runs in just 49 balls and remained not out to seal the victory for his side. He smashed 1 four and 6 sixes. The Daren Sammy-led side chased down the target with 23 balls remaining.

Vs West Indies (2nd T20I)

In the second T20I, West Indies elected to bat first. The West Indies’ batters scored 158 runs in their 20 overs. Kieron Pollard’s knock of 45 runs in just 24 balls hitting three fours and sixes each. Natsai M’shangwe and Tinotenda Mutombodzi picked up two wickets each.

Hamilton Masakadza scored 53 runs in just 51 balls but received no support from the other batters as Zimbabwe was restricted to just 117 runs inside 20 overs.