Team India's overseas series triumphs in T20 Internationals

After conquering South Africa in one-day internationals (ODIs) and T20Is, India will be locking horns with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in a triangular T20I series in the island nation organized on the occasion of its 70 years of independence. Led by Rohit Sharma, who has captained India in some memorable series wins in T20s, this will be the first time India will be playing in a T20I tri-series since 2006-07 when they started participating in the shortest format. India, till now, has played 94 T20Is, winning 57, losing 34, tying 1 while two games ended inconclusively.

India’s first-ever T20I was played in Johannesburg in South Africa which they had won by 6 wickets. Since then, the men in blue have played in several bilateral and multilateral T20I tournaments like the World T20 and Asia Cup but not in any tri-series as they have done in ODIs. In that context, the upcoming Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka will be a first for the Indian cricket team.

While the fans sincerely hope that India will continue with their dream run in the upcoming tri-series as well, despite top players like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, here we look at some top T20I titles India have won abroad in last 11 years.

World Twenty20 in South Africa, 2007

It was an event which had changed the course of India’s cricketing history. India was not known to be keen in playing T20Is at that point of time and some of the top players had opted out when it came to playing the inaugural T20 world cup in South Africa in 2007. A young team was sent under Dhoni’s captaincy and they eventually won the trophy, beating arch-rivals Pakistan by 5 runs in the final. This World Title, which came just months after India’s disastrous campaign at the 50-over World Cup earlier that year, changed India’s perception towards T20 cricket. The Indian Premier League started the next year and as they say, the rest is history. India had beaten Pakistan (twice), England, South Africa and Australia in that tournament while they lost closely to New Zealand.

Thrashing Australia 3-0 Down Under, 2016

This is India’s best-ever performance in a bilateral T20 series so far. Having lost the ODI series 1-4, MS Dhoni’s men made a remarkable comeback in the three-match T20 series in the 2015-16 tour, whitewashing the hosts. It was a special victory for India have always found it hard to do well Down Under and a 3-0 scoreline was always a tremendous one.

Virat Kohli’s sublime batting form won him the player of the series award in the first two games in Adelaide and Melbourne while it was the cool customer in Suresh Raina who won India a thriller in Sydney to complete the whitewash. Jaspreet Bumrah, one of India’s main bowlers now, was the find of that tour as he captured six wickets and India had become the top ranking T20 team after that series win.

Beating South Africa 2-1 in away series, 2018

India has beaten South Africa in their den on quite a few occasions but those were either in one-off games (2006-07 & 2010-11) or in multilateral tournaments like the 2007 World T20. It was only in 2018 that India defeated SA in a series and it is one of their best away series wins in the shortest format.

Led by Virat Kohli, India followed up their 5-1 hammering of SA with a victory in the first T20I match in Johannesburg. The hosts pulled one back by winning the next game in Centurion, thanks to some clinical hitting, but India proved to be the better team by winning the third T20I and clinching the series 2-1. Rohit Sharma, a very successful captain in the T20 format, led India in this game in the absence of an injured Kohli.

Winning Asia Cup in Bangladesh, 2016

The 2016 Asia Cup played in Bangladesh was played in T20 format and MS Dhoni added yet another feather to his crown by winning it without losing a single game. India started their campaign by beating Bangladesh by 45 runs and also defeated them by 8 wickets in the final to lift the trophy. In between, they beat Pakistan by 5 wickets, Sri Lanka by 5 wickets and the UAE by 9 wickets. India had bundled out Pakistan for 83 in their match in Dhaka before winning it by 5 wickets, overcoming a stiff resistance from the arch-rivals.

Defeating Zimbabwe 2-0 in Zimbabwe, 2010

This was India’s first-ever win in an away T20 event featuring more than one game. Captained by Suresh Raina, an inexperienced India made up for their loss in the final of the ODI tri-series prior to the T20 series versus Sri Lanka by winning both the games. India won the games in Harare by 6 and 7 wickets, respectively, to complete the brown wash.

Defeating Zimbabwe 2-1 in Zimbabwe, 2016

Though it was Zimbabwe again, yet the 2-1 victory over the Africans in 2016 is significant for it was brought by a bunch of youngsters under the leadership of Dhoni whose own experience was more than the rest of the squad combined. Zimbabwe’s interim coach Makhaya Ntini had lashed out at teams for not sending their first team to Zimbabwe but as it turned out in this series, even an inexperienced Indian side proved too hot to be handled by the hosts. After getting routed 0-3 in the ODI series, Zimbabwe made a comeback by winning the first T20I by two runs but India won the next two to pocket the series. The visitors won the decider by just three runs to register yet another series victory abroad.

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