India is often under criticism for their underwhelming performances overseas as they have won quite less away from home. The bowling attack failing to capitalize on the helpful conditions and the batting collapses have cost India most times during away tours.

There were instances of the Indian team losing to the domestic/state sides of the country they toured as well. In this article, we look at some of the instances where the team India, despite fielding most of the big names, headed down in front of the domestic teams.

Here are the top five occasions of the Indian team losing to a domestic team in official matches:

5. Indians vs Nottinghamshire in 1979 (First-Class)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-265736" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-265736" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar of India. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

India were trailing 0-1 in the 4-match Test series during their tour of England in 1979 which was played after the completion of the World Cup. They lost the first Test by an innings margin while the following two matches ended in a draw. Prior to the final Test at The Oval, the visitors took on Nottinghamshire in a first-class match. As many as nine players who played the 3rd Test hosted by the Leeds were part of the FC game scheduled at Trent Bridge.

<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sunil Gavaskar</a> and Karsan Ghavri were the only players who weren&#8217;t common in the Indian XIs of Leeds Test and the FC game in Nottinghamshire. Their spots were taken by Anshuman Gaekwad and Yajurvindra Singh who did appear in the first two Test matches. India, who elected to bat first, were bowled out for only 149 as the home team skipper Clive Rice (4) and Sir Richard Hadlee (3) shared 7 wickets between them. Derek Randall’s 50 helped the Nottinghamshire level the scores with 6 wickets in hand.

The Indian skipper S Venkataraghavan introduced himself as the 5th bowler and recorded figures of 3.4-1-4-4. As a result, the Nottingham’s lead was limited to 50 runs as they collapsed from 195/6 to 199/10. The pair of Hadlee and Rice claimed four wickets apiece to bundle out India to 161 this time around. Mohinder Amarnath scored 59 before he was dismissed hit wicket off Hadlee. India could only set a target of 112 in front of the hosts who chased it down for the loss of four wickets in 34 overs.

4. Indians vs Queensland in 1999-00 (First-Class)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-313620" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-1.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-313620" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption>

India’s tour of Australia in 1999-00 began with a practice first-class match against the Queensland team at the Gabba. Only Sourav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath were the major missings for the team led by Sachin Tendulkar. S Ramesh (43) and VVS Laxman put on a partnership of exactly 100 runs between Devang Gandhi and Rahul Dravid’s ducks. Laxman then added 136 runs in only 184 balls with skipper Sachin Tendulkar as India moved towards posting a big total.

Laxman smashed as many as 20 fours during his 113 that came off 209 balls while Tendulkar scored a 114-ball 83 with help of 13 boundaries. Both the set batsmen fell to Scott Muller as Indians collapsed to 277/10 losing their last seven wickets for 41 runs. The Queensland skipper Stuart Law was run-out without facing a ball little after Lunch on 2nd day leaving his team three down for 91. It marked the beginning of an assault of Andrew Symonds who got support from Martin Love.

The duo added 204 runs in only 40 overs before Love was caught behind scoring 120 with 10 fours. Symonds smashed 26 fours and a six during his 174-ball 161 as Queensland raked up 401 and took a lead of 124 runs. Laxman continued his first-innings exploits scoring 73 with 12 fours during the 2nd essay. Dravid and Sachin scored 42 and 27 runs respectively before the collapse began. India were bundled out for only 204 losing their last seven wickets for 36 runs and could only set a target of 81 for the Queenslanders.

Captain Stuart Law smashed 60 off 65 balls as the home team chased down the target in only 20.5 overs without losing a wicket. Thiru Kumaran picked up a 5-wicket haul in the first innings but it was not enough to feature in at least one game during the Test series as Ajit Agarkar played ahead of him. Debasis Mohanty was replaced by Srinath while Ganguly came in for R Vijay Bharadwaj during the Test series. However, Bharadwaj played the last Test of the series.

3. Indians vs Central Districts in 1998-99 (First-Class)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-182595" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-182595" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

India took on Central Districts in their first match on the tour of New Zealand in 1998-99. The Indian team played the game at the McLean Park with a full-strength batting line-up. But they were reduced to 20/5 with all of their top five getting out for single figures. Indians were bundled out for only 103, a total which was overhauled by the home team losing only one wicket. Skipper Craig Spearman top-scored with 85 while Matthew Sinclair and Jarrod Englefield made 52 and 63 respectively.

The Central Districts were cruising at 236/3 thanks to three individual fifties from their top four but collapsed to 336/10 losing seven wickets for 100 runs. Sachin Tendulkar came to bat at No.7 just before lunch interval on day 3. By that time, India lost half their side for only 133 runs and were still 100 runs behind home team’s total. Tendulkar took on the Central Districts with his aggressive stroke play as Indians reached 327/5 by Tea break smashing as many as 177 runs in the second session.

He raced to 120 by scoring more than 100 runs in a single session. He got perfect support from Nayan Mongia as he scored 79 with 10 boundaries to share a 201-run partnership with Sachin. The master-blaster got to his fifty in only 33 balls and completed his ton in only 81 deliveries. In another 38 balls, he brought up his 150-run mark as India’s lead crossed 100. Sachin finally got out in the bowling of the off-spinner Campbell Furlong whom he dominated through his innings.

Tendulkar smashed 20 fours and three sixes on his way through to a 120-ball 154. Furlong ended up with four wickets but conceded 177 runs in only 24 overs. Indians were eventually bowled out for 390 and set a target of 158 runs to Central Districts. They lost a couple of early wickets in the final session on 3rd day but got over the winning line losing only three wickets as Spearman struck 85 from 100 balls with 13 boundaries.

A total of nine players except for Debasis Mohanty and Robin Singh played for the Indian side during the 2nd Test of the series (1st Test match was abandoned due to rain). Javagal Srinath and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-will-not-get-out-to-him-asked-waqar-younis-to-play-the-big-shots-wasim-akram-reminisces-anil-kumbles-10-wicket-haul-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anil Kumble</a> were the ones who missed the FC game against Central Districts but featured in Wellington Test replacing Robin and Debasis. Robin Singh, however, got a chance to play in the 3rd Test and final game of the Test series by replacing Harbhajan Singh.

2. Indians vs Northamptonshire in 1996 (List A)

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-340608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340608" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)</figcaption>

The tour of England was India’s first major assignment after the semi-final crash out in the 1996 World Cup. India were due to face the home side in three ODIs and three Test matches. India spent nearly 3 weeks playing against County sides before the first ODI. Their last warm-up game ahead of the ODI series was against Northamptonshire in Luton. Sachin Tendulkar anchored the Indian innings after the home team invited the visitors to bat first.

Sachin shared partnerships of 50, 50 and 55 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wickets respectively with Navjot Sidhu (26), Mohammad Azharuddin (26) and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yaar-rambo-why-dont-you-dive-sanjay-manjrekar-recalls-his-playing-days-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanjay Manjrekar</a> (37). Tendulkar scored 88 from 108 balls with help of ten fours before he was dismissed run out. From 174/3, the Indian team finished on 228/9 in their 50 overs. As many as 8 overs of Northants innings were lost due to rain during the interval. Their target was revised to 192 in 42 overs through run rate.

The Indian pacers Paras Mhambrey and Venkatesh Prasad reduced the home team to 41/3. But Mal Loye and skipper Robert Bailey put on 93 for the 4th wicket in 24 overs to rescue the chase. Bailey was runout trying for a quick single having scored 41 off 71 balls. Mal Loye was the aggressor in the Northampton’s innings as he smashed 9 fours during his 83-run knock which came in 95 balls.

Loye added 45 runs with Kevin Curran for the 5th wicket before being dismissed with three overs to go. The hosts safely achieved the target losing five wickets and with 7 balls remaining. India took the field in the first ODI with as many as 10 players who played in the defeat against Northamptonshire. Javagal Srinath replacing Sunil Joshi was the only exception. Captain Azharuddin recovered from a finger injury he suffered against Northants to play the ODI match at The Oval.

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption>

India played three warm-up matches against County sides ahead of the 2002 NatWest Tri-series. The tour began with a 3-wicket win over Sussex under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy thanks to an unbeaten 75-run knock from Sachin Tendulkar. They later faced Kent in Canterbury with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ms-dhoni-and-sourav-ganguly-were-totally-different-but-knew-how-to-bring-the-best-out-of-players-ashish-nehra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sourav Ganguly</a> taking his place as captain. Ashish Nehra, who claimed a 4-wicket haul, was rested for the game against Kent. The home team had a big partnership for the 2nd wicket after they elected to bat first.

Robert Key added 128-run stand with Andrew Symonds before getting stumped in the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Key scored 76 from 84 balls with help of 10 boundaries. Symonds was more aggressive as he smashed 9 fours and two sixes during his 57-ball 75 before he got run out. The Kent’s middle-order failed to score big runs but Mark Ealham’s 74* off 74 balls pushed Kent to 284. Ealham’s knock included five sixes out of which three came in successive balls during the 49th over that cost 25 runs.

Skipper Ganguly scored 64 from 75 balls in his first game of the tour while Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia scored 45 and 37 respectively and Indians were placed at 166/2. James Golding, who broke the opening stand, struck three times in space of his three overs to leave India at 179/5. India crawled to 247/6 off 46 overs with another 38 runs needed from 4 overs. Mark Ealham, the star with the bat, struck twice in the 47th over and picked the wickets of set batters Rahul Dravid (34) and Harbhajan (17).

Ealham, in his next over, got the wickets of Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble to wrap-up the Indian innings with a 4-wicket haul. The visiting side ended up on the losing side as they were bowled out for 263 in 48.5 overs. Interestingly, same batting line-up ended up featuring in the victorious NatWest Final. Tinu Yohannan in place of Ashish Nehra is the only difference between the game against Kent and NatWest Trophy final.

India is often under criticism for their underwhelming performances overseas as they have won quite less away from home. The bowling attack failing to capitalize on the helpful conditions and the batting collapses have cost India most times during away tours.
There were instances of the Indian team losing to the domestic/state sides of the country they toured as well. In this article, we look at some of the instances where the team India, despite fielding most of the big names, headed down in front of the domestic teams.
<h3>Here are the top five occasions of the Indian team losing to a domestic team in official matches:</h3>
<h3>5. Indians vs Nottinghamshire in 1979 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_265736" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-265736" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-265736" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-265736" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar of India. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
India were trailing 0-1 in the 4-match Test series during their tour of England in 1979 which was played after the completion of the World Cup. They lost the first Test by an innings margin while the following two matches ended in a draw. Prior to the final Test at The Oval, the visitors took on Nottinghamshire in a first-class match. As many as nine players who played the 3rd Test hosted by the Leeds were part of the FC game scheduled at Trent Bridge.
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sunil Gavaskar</a> and Karsan Ghavri were the only players who weren’t common in the Indian XIs of Leeds Test and the FC game in Nottinghamshire. Their spots were taken by Anshuman Gaekwad and Yajurvindra Singh who did appear in the first two Test matches. India, who elected to bat first, were bowled out for only 149 as the home team skipper Clive Rice (4) and Sir Richard Hadlee (3) shared 7 wickets between them. Derek Randall’s 50 helped the Nottinghamshire level the scores with 6 wickets in hand.
The Indian skipper S Venkataraghavan introduced himself as the 5th bowler and recorded figures of 3.4-1-4-4. As a result, the Nottingham’s lead was limited to 50 runs as they collapsed from 195/6 to 199/10. The pair of Hadlee and Rice claimed four wickets apiece to bundle out India to 161 this time around. Mohinder Amarnath scored 59 before he was dismissed hit wicket off Hadlee. India could only set a target of 112 in front of the hosts who chased it down for the loss of four wickets in 34 overs.

<h3>4. Indians vs Queensland in 1999-00 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_313620" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-313620" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-313620" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-1.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-313620" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
India’s tour of Australia in 1999-00 began with a practice first-class match against the Queensland team at the Gabba. Only Sourav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath were the major missings for the team led by Sachin Tendulkar. S Ramesh (43) and VVS Laxman put on a partnership of exactly 100 runs between Devang Gandhi and Rahul Dravid’s ducks. Laxman then added 136 runs in only 184 balls with skipper Sachin Tendulkar as India moved towards posting a big total.
Laxman smashed as many as 20 fours during his 113 that came off 209 balls while Tendulkar scored a 114-ball 83 with help of 13 boundaries. Both the set batsmen fell to Scott Muller as Indians collapsed to 277/10 losing their last seven wickets for 41 runs. The Queensland skipper Stuart Law was run-out without facing a ball little after Lunch on 2nd day leaving his team three down for 91. It marked the beginning of an assault of Andrew Symonds who got support from Martin Love.
The duo added 204 runs in only 40 overs before Love was caught behind scoring 120 with 10 fours. Symonds smashed 26 fours and a six during his 174-ball 161 as Queensland raked up 401 and took a lead of 124 runs. Laxman continued his first-innings exploits scoring 73 with 12 fours during the 2nd essay. Dravid and Sachin scored 42 and 27 runs respectively before the collapse began. India were bundled out for only 204 losing their last seven wickets for 36 runs and could only set a target of 81 for the Queenslanders.
Captain Stuart Law smashed 60 off 65 balls as the home team chased down the target in only 20.5 overs without losing a wicket. Thiru Kumaran picked up a 5-wicket haul in the first innings but it was not enough to feature in at least one game during the Test series as Ajit Agarkar played ahead of him. Debasis Mohanty was replaced by Srinath while Ganguly came in for R Vijay Bharadwaj during the Test series. However, Bharadwaj played the last Test of the series.

<h3>3. Indians vs Central Districts in 1998-99 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_182595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-182595" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-182595" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-182595" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
India took on Central Districts in their first match on the tour of New Zealand in 1998-99. The Indian team played the game at the McLean Park with a full-strength batting line-up. But they were reduced to 20/5 with all of their top five getting out for single figures. Indians were bundled out for only 103, a total which was overhauled by the home team losing only one wicket. Skipper Craig Spearman top-scored with 85 while Matthew Sinclair and Jarrod Englefield made 52 and 63 respectively.
The Central Districts were cruising at 236/3 thanks to three individual fifties from their top four but collapsed to 336/10 losing seven wickets for 100 runs. Sachin Tendulkar came to bat at No.7 just before lunch interval on day 3. By that time, India lost half their side for only 133 runs and were still 100 runs behind home team’s total. Tendulkar took on the Central Districts with his aggressive stroke play as Indians reached 327/5 by Tea break smashing as many as 177 runs in the second session.
He raced to 120 by scoring more than 100 runs in a single session. He got perfect support from Nayan Mongia as he scored 79 with 10 boundaries to share a 201-run partnership with Sachin. The master-blaster got to his fifty in only 33 balls and completed his ton in only 81 deliveries. In another 38 balls, he brought up his 150-run mark as India’s lead crossed 100. Sachin finally got out in the bowling of the off-spinner Campbell Furlong whom he dominated through his innings.
Tendulkar smashed 20 fours and three sixes on his way through to a 120-ball 154. Furlong ended up with four wickets but conceded 177 runs in only 24 overs. Indians were eventually bowled out for 390 and set a target of 158 runs to Central Districts. They lost a couple of early wickets in the final session on 3rd day but got over the winning line losing only three wickets as Spearman struck 85 from 100 balls with 13 boundaries.
A total of nine players except for Debasis Mohanty and Robin Singh played for the Indian side during the 2nd Test of the series (1st Test match was abandoned due to rain). Javagal Srinath and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-will-not-get-out-to-him-asked-waqar-younis-to-play-the-big-shots-wasim-akram-reminisces-anil-kumbles-10-wicket-haul-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anil Kumble</a> were the ones who missed the FC game against Central Districts but featured in Wellington Test replacing Robin and Debasis. Robin Singh, however, got a chance to play in the 3rd Test and final game of the Test series by replacing Harbhajan Singh.

<h3>2. Indians vs Northamptonshire in 1996 (List A)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_340608" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-340608" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-340608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340608" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The tour of England was India’s first major assignment after the semi-final crash out in the 1996 World Cup. India were due to face the home side in three ODIs and three Test matches. India spent nearly 3 weeks playing against County sides before the first ODI. Their last warm-up game ahead of the ODI series was against Northamptonshire in Luton. Sachin Tendulkar anchored the Indian innings after the home team invited the visitors to bat first.
Sachin shared partnerships of 50, 50 and 55 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wickets respectively with Navjot Sidhu (26), Mohammad Azharuddin (26) and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yaar-rambo-why-dont-you-dive-sanjay-manjrekar-recalls-his-playing-days-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanjay Manjrekar</a> (37). Tendulkar scored 88 from 108 balls with help of ten fours before he was dismissed run out. From 174/3, the Indian team finished on 228/9 in their 50 overs. As many as 8 overs of Northants innings were lost due to rain during the interval. Their target was revised to 192 in 42 overs through run rate.
The Indian pacers Paras Mhambrey and Venkatesh Prasad reduced the home team to 41/3. But Mal Loye and skipper Robert Bailey put on 93 for the 4th wicket in 24 overs to rescue the chase. Bailey was runout trying for a quick single having scored 41 off 71 balls. Mal Loye was the aggressor in the Northampton’s innings as he smashed 9 fours during his 83-run knock which came in 95 balls.
Loye added 45 runs with Kevin Curran for the 5th wicket before being dismissed with three overs to go. The hosts safely achieved the target losing five wickets and with 7 balls remaining. India took the field in the first ODI with as many as 10 players who played in the defeat against Northamptonshire. Javagal Srinath replacing Sunil Joshi was the only exception. Captain Azharuddin recovered from a finger injury he suffered against Northants to play the ODI match at The Oval.

<h3>1. Indians vs Kent in 2002 (List A)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415683" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></figure>
India played three warm-up matches against County sides ahead of the 2002 NatWest Tri-series. The tour began with a 3-wicket win over Sussex under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy thanks to an unbeaten 75-run knock from Sachin Tendulkar. They later faced Kent in Canterbury with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ms-dhoni-and-sourav-ganguly-were-totally-different-but-knew-how-to-bring-the-best-out-of-players-ashish-nehra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sourav Ganguly</a> taking his place as captain. Ashish Nehra, who claimed a 4-wicket haul, was rested for the game against Kent. The home team had a big partnership for the 2nd wicket after they elected to bat first.
Robert Key added 128-run stand with Andrew Symonds before getting stumped in the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Key scored 76 from 84 balls with help of 10 boundaries. Symonds was more aggressive as he smashed 9 fours and two sixes during his 57-ball 75 before he got run out. The Kent’s middle-order failed to score big runs but Mark Ealham’s 74* off 74 balls pushed Kent to 284. Ealham’s knock included five sixes out of which three came in successive balls during the 49th over that cost 25 runs.
Skipper Ganguly scored 64 from 75 balls in his first game of the tour while Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia scored 45 and 37 respectively and Indians were placed at 166/2. James Golding, who broke the opening stand, struck three times in space of his three overs to leave India at 179/5. India crawled to 247/6 off 46 overs with another 38 runs needed from 4 overs. Mark Ealham, the star with the bat, struck twice in the 47th over and picked the wickets of set batters Rahul Dravid (34) and Harbhajan (17).
Ealham, in his next over, got the wickets of Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble to wrap-up the Indian innings with a 4-wicket haul. The visiting side ended up on the losing side as they were bowled out for 263 in 48.5 overs. Interestingly, same batting line-up ended up featuring in the victorious NatWest Final. Tinu Yohannan in place of Ashish Nehra is the only difference between the game against Kent and NatWest Trophy final.

India is often under criticism for their underwhelming performances overseas as they have won quite less away from home. The bowling attack failing to capitalize on the helpful conditions and the batting collapses have cost India most times during away tours.
There were instances of the Indian team losing to the domestic/state sides of the country they toured as well. In this article, we look at some of the instances where the team India, despite fielding most of the big names, headed down in front of the domestic teams.
<h3>Here are the top five occasions of the Indian team losing to a domestic team in official matches:</h3>
<h3>5. Indians vs Nottinghamshire in 1979 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_265736" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-265736" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-265736" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sunil-Gavaskar.jpg" alt="Sunil Gavaskar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-265736" class="wp-caption-text">Sunil Gavaskar of India. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
India were trailing 0-1 in the 4-match Test series during their tour of England in 1979 which was played after the completion of the World Cup. They lost the first Test by an innings margin while the following two matches ended in a draw. Prior to the final Test at The Oval, the visitors took on Nottinghamshire in a first-class match. As many as nine players who played the 3rd Test hosted by the Leeds were part of the FC game scheduled at Trent Bridge.
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-have-almost-come-down-to-my-debut-series-weight-sunil-gavaskar-tells-his-story-in-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sunil Gavaskar</a> and Karsan Ghavri were the only players who weren&#8217;t common in the Indian XIs of Leeds Test and the FC game in Nottinghamshire. Their spots were taken by Anshuman Gaekwad and Yajurvindra Singh who did appear in the first two Test matches. India, who elected to bat first, were bowled out for only 149 as the home team skipper Clive Rice (4) and Sir Richard Hadlee (3) shared 7 wickets between them. Derek Randall’s 50 helped the Nottinghamshire level the scores with 6 wickets in hand.
The Indian skipper S Venkataraghavan introduced himself as the 5th bowler and recorded figures of 3.4-1-4-4. As a result, the Nottingham’s lead was limited to 50 runs as they collapsed from 195/6 to 199/10. The pair of Hadlee and Rice claimed four wickets apiece to bundle out India to 161 this time around. Mohinder Amarnath scored 59 before he was dismissed hit wicket off Hadlee. India could only set a target of 112 in front of the hosts who chased it down for the loss of four wickets in 34 overs.

<h3>4. Indians vs Queensland in 1999-00 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_313620" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-313620" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-313620" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar-1.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-313620" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
India’s tour of Australia in 1999-00 began with a practice first-class match against the Queensland team at the Gabba. Only Sourav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath were the major missings for the team led by Sachin Tendulkar. S Ramesh (43) and VVS Laxman put on a partnership of exactly 100 runs between Devang Gandhi and Rahul Dravid’s ducks. Laxman then added 136 runs in only 184 balls with skipper Sachin Tendulkar as India moved towards posting a big total.
Laxman smashed as many as 20 fours during his 113 that came off 209 balls while Tendulkar scored a 114-ball 83 with help of 13 boundaries. Both the set batsmen fell to Scott Muller as Indians collapsed to 277/10 losing their last seven wickets for 41 runs. The Queensland skipper Stuart Law was run-out without facing a ball little after Lunch on 2nd day leaving his team three down for 91. It marked the beginning of an assault of Andrew Symonds who got support from Martin Love.
The duo added 204 runs in only 40 overs before Love was caught behind scoring 120 with 10 fours. Symonds smashed 26 fours and a six during his 174-ball 161 as Queensland raked up 401 and took a lead of 124 runs. Laxman continued his first-innings exploits scoring 73 with 12 fours during the 2nd essay. Dravid and Sachin scored 42 and 27 runs respectively before the collapse began. India were bundled out for only 204 losing their last seven wickets for 36 runs and could only set a target of 81 for the Queenslanders.
Captain Stuart Law smashed 60 off 65 balls as the home team chased down the target in only 20.5 overs without losing a wicket. Thiru Kumaran picked up a 5-wicket haul in the first innings but it was not enough to feature in at least one game during the Test series as Ajit Agarkar played ahead of him. Debasis Mohanty was replaced by Srinath while Ganguly came in for R Vijay Bharadwaj during the Test series. However, Bharadwaj played the last Test of the series.

<h3>3. Indians vs Central Districts in 1998-99 (First-Class)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_182595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-182595" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-182595" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Sachin-Tendulkar.jpg" alt="Sachin Tendulkar" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-182595" class="wp-caption-text">Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
India took on Central Districts in their first match on the tour of New Zealand in 1998-99. The Indian team played the game at the McLean Park with a full-strength batting line-up. But they were reduced to 20/5 with all of their top five getting out for single figures. Indians were bundled out for only 103, a total which was overhauled by the home team losing only one wicket. Skipper Craig Spearman top-scored with 85 while Matthew Sinclair and Jarrod Englefield made 52 and 63 respectively.
The Central Districts were cruising at 236/3 thanks to three individual fifties from their top four but collapsed to 336/10 losing seven wickets for 100 runs. Sachin Tendulkar came to bat at No.7 just before lunch interval on day 3. By that time, India lost half their side for only 133 runs and were still 100 runs behind home team’s total. Tendulkar took on the Central Districts with his aggressive stroke play as Indians reached 327/5 by Tea break smashing as many as 177 runs in the second session.
He raced to 120 by scoring more than 100 runs in a single session. He got perfect support from Nayan Mongia as he scored 79 with 10 boundaries to share a 201-run partnership with Sachin. The master-blaster got to his fifty in only 33 balls and completed his ton in only 81 deliveries. In another 38 balls, he brought up his 150-run mark as India’s lead crossed 100. Sachin finally got out in the bowling of the off-spinner Campbell Furlong whom he dominated through his innings.
Tendulkar smashed 20 fours and three sixes on his way through to a 120-ball 154. Furlong ended up with four wickets but conceded 177 runs in only 24 overs. Indians were eventually bowled out for 390 and set a target of 158 runs to Central Districts. They lost a couple of early wickets in the final session on 3rd day but got over the winning line losing only three wickets as Spearman struck 85 from 100 balls with 13 boundaries.
A total of nine players except for Debasis Mohanty and Robin Singh played for the Indian side during the 2nd Test of the series (1st Test match was abandoned due to rain). Javagal Srinath and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/i-will-not-get-out-to-him-asked-waqar-younis-to-play-the-big-shots-wasim-akram-reminisces-anil-kumbles-10-wicket-haul-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Anil Kumble</a> were the ones who missed the FC game against Central Districts but featured in Wellington Test replacing Robin and Debasis. Robin Singh, however, got a chance to play in the 3rd Test and final game of the Test series by replacing Harbhajan Singh.

<h3>2. Indians vs Northamptonshire in 1996 (List A)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_340608" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-340608" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-340608" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mohammad-Azharuddin.jpg" alt="Mohammad Azharuddin" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-340608" class="wp-caption-text">Mohammad Azharuddin. (Photo by Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
The tour of England was India’s first major assignment after the semi-final crash out in the 1996 World Cup. India were due to face the home side in three ODIs and three Test matches. India spent nearly 3 weeks playing against County sides before the first ODI. Their last warm-up game ahead of the ODI series was against Northamptonshire in Luton. Sachin Tendulkar anchored the Indian innings after the home team invited the visitors to bat first.
Sachin shared partnerships of 50, 50 and 55 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wickets respectively with Navjot Sidhu (26), Mohammad Azharuddin (26) and <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/yaar-rambo-why-dont-you-dive-sanjay-manjrekar-recalls-his-playing-days-against-pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sanjay Manjrekar</a> (37). Tendulkar scored 88 from 108 balls with help of ten fours before he was dismissed run out. From 174/3, the Indian team finished on 228/9 in their 50 overs. As many as 8 overs of Northants innings were lost due to rain during the interval. Their target was revised to 192 in 42 overs through run rate.
The Indian pacers Paras Mhambrey and Venkatesh Prasad reduced the home team to 41/3. But Mal Loye and skipper Robert Bailey put on 93 for the 4th wicket in 24 overs to rescue the chase. Bailey was runout trying for a quick single having scored 41 off 71 balls. Mal Loye was the aggressor in the Northampton’s innings as he smashed 9 fours during his 83-run knock which came in 95 balls.
Loye added 45 runs with Kevin Curran for the 5th wicket before being dismissed with three overs to go. The hosts safely achieved the target losing five wickets and with 7 balls remaining. India took the field in the first ODI with as many as 10 players who played in the defeat against Northamptonshire. Javagal Srinath replacing Sunil Joshi was the only exception. Captain Azharuddin recovered from a finger injury he suffered against Northants to play the ODI match at The Oval.

<h3>1. Indians vs Kent in 2002 (List A)</h3>
<figure id="attachment_415683" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-415683" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-415683" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid-2001.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid 2001" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-415683" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo Source: Hamish Blair/ALLSPORT)</figcaption></figure>
India played three warm-up matches against County sides ahead of the 2002 NatWest Tri-series. The tour began with a 3-wicket win over Sussex under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy thanks to an unbeaten 75-run knock from Sachin Tendulkar. They later faced Kent in Canterbury with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/ms-dhoni-and-sourav-ganguly-were-totally-different-but-knew-how-to-bring-the-best-out-of-players-ashish-nehra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sourav Ganguly</a> taking his place as captain. Ashish Nehra, who claimed a 4-wicket haul, was rested for the game against Kent. The home team had a big partnership for the 2nd wicket after they elected to bat first.
Robert Key added 128-run stand with Andrew Symonds before getting stumped in the bowling of Harbhajan Singh. Key scored 76 from 84 balls with help of 10 boundaries. Symonds was more aggressive as he smashed 9 fours and two sixes during his 57-ball 75 before he got run out. The Kent’s middle-order failed to score big runs but Mark Ealham’s 74* off 74 balls pushed Kent to 284. Ealham’s knock included five sixes out of which three came in successive balls during the 49th over that cost 25 runs.
Skipper Ganguly scored 64 from 75 balls in his first game of the tour while Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia scored 45 and 37 respectively and Indians were placed at 166/2. James Golding, who broke the opening stand, struck three times in space of his three overs to leave India at 179/5. India crawled to 247/6 off 46 overs with another 38 runs needed from 4 overs. Mark Ealham, the star with the bat, struck twice in the 47th over and picked the wickets of set batters Rahul Dravid (34) and Harbhajan (17).
Ealham, in his next over, got the wickets of Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble to wrap-up the Indian innings with a 4-wicket haul. The visiting side ended up on the losing side as they were bowled out for 263 in 48.5 overs. Interestingly, same batting line-up ended up featuring in the victorious NatWest Final. Tinu Yohannan in place of Ashish Nehra is the only difference between the game against Kent and NatWest Trophy final.

Here are the top five occasions of the Indian team losing to a domestic team in official matches.

5 Instances of Indian team losing to domestic teams on away tours

India is often under criticism for their underwhelming performances overseas as they have won quite less away from home. The bowling attack