India’s New Era Under Shreyas Iyer? Zimbabwe Whitewash Ends Two-Year Wait and Restores No. 1 spot

For a team as successful as India, sometimes the best way is to get over a patch of gloom. After losing seven matches in a row at home and away on the tour of Ireland and England, the Men in Blue knew that they needed a win more than anything else.

Led by the newly appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, they went to Zimbabwe and did much more than just get off the losing streak.

India swept the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe 3-0, including two consecutive wins on the weekend, to reclaim the number one spot in the International Cricket Council T20 rankings from England.

India Ending a Two-Year Whitewash Drought

While India had a rich record in bilateral cricket, having won five consecutive series in a row to enter the European campaign, they had surprisingly failed to register a single whitewash in the past. The last time India secured a 3-0 series victory in T20I cricket was also at home against Bangladesh, back in December 2021. That series saw the debut of Mayank Yadav and also witnessed the highest-ever T20I total by the Men in Blue, in Hyderabad. However, with the convincing 23-run win over Zimbabwe in Harare, India has registered its 11th-ever bilateral series whitewash – and is back to being ruthless in home conditions.

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It was a spectacular series for the hosts, Shreyas Iyer, who captained the team for the first time – and was in his element with the high-octane, back-to-back matches.

“To have such kind of energy is what I require as a captain and as a team,

and they could deliver today as well, back-to-back games,” said Iyer, while receiving the Player of the Series award. “So, yeah, a special feeling for me to win the series over here in Zimbabwe. Clinical, 3-0. So it’s going to be a special moment.”

As for Iyer himself, after steering India to a clinical run chase in the series opener, he has announced himself as a confident leader by laying down the same ruthless approach with two successive victories.

The Men in Blue now shift their focus to the upcoming T20I series against the West Indies, starting on October 6 in Lucknow. With the European tour behind them and the number one ranking back in their hands, India will aim to replicate the same success in the shortest format and continue their rich form in T20 cricket.