After a dream start to the tour against New Zealand with three victories in a row to seal victory in the five-match T20I series, the Indian cricket team suffered an 87-run defeat in the fourth T20I on Friday (October 30) at Eden Park in Auckland as the hosts put up a commanding effort with both bat and ball. The result saw the Shreyas Iyer-led side hit an all-time low while New Zealand achieved multiple records.
Talking about the match, Glenn Phillips was the star of the show for the home team with a fine century as he made 107 runs in just 49 balls in a knock that included six boundaries and 10 maximums. Meanwhile, Michael Bracewell made a quick-fire 25-ball 65 as New Zealand posted 159 on the board. In reply, the Men in Blue managed to make just 172 runs, with Jacob Duffy taking a four-for (4-23), which included two wickets in the first over, with the big wickets of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.
New Zealand Hit Unprecedented High, India Sink To All-Time Low Under Shreyas Iyer
The 87-run defeat by India is their second-heaviest in history, behind a 125-run loss against England earlier this year at Nottingham. Incredibly, India’s two biggest losses in the shortest format of the game have come since Shreyas took charge of the team as captain in June this year. New Zealand are also the first team in history to defeat India twice by margins of over 80 runs
India’s Biggest T20I Losses
| Opponent | Runs | Venue | Year |
| England | 125 | Nottingham | 2026 |
| New Zealand | 87 | Auckland | 2026 |
| New Zealand | 80 | Wellington | 2026 |
| South Africa | 76 | Ahmedabad | 2025 |
| England | 56 | Southampton | 2026 |
Meanwhile, the total of 259 is the biggest total ever scored against India. This is the third instance of India conceding over 250 runs in a T20I, and all have come under Shreyas since July this year. Meanwhile, each of the five biggest totals scored against India in the shortest format have come in 2026, with the top four post the leadership change after the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Biggest T20I Totals Scored Against India In T20Is
| Team | Runs | Venue | Year |
| New Zealand | 259/7 | Auckland | 2026 |
| England | 257/3 | Southampton | 2026 |
| West Indies | 252/4 | Ranchi | 2026 |
| West Indies | 247/3 | Hyderabad | 2026 |
| England | 246/7 | Mumbai | 2026 |
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s total of 259 is the highest-ever T20I total scored by a team in New Zealand. The previous record was held by Australia, who made 245 at Eden Park as they completed the highest successful chase to date in the country after the hosts put up a total of 243 in 2018.
Moreover, this is also the highest-ever T20I total that New Zealand has made in history. The previous record for the Black Caps was a total of 254 against Scotland at Edinburgh in 2022. They had never previously scored over 250 in the shortest format against a full-member nation before, with their highest totals being 243 against West Indies (in 2018 at Mount Maunganui) and New Zealand (in 2018 at Auckland).
Shreyas’ Mixed Start To Indian Captaincy
As the above numbers show, Shreyas’ start to life as Indian captain has not gone to plan. As far as results are concerned, this is the 9th defeat India has suffered in 25 matches that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper has led the team in. His predecessor, Suryakumar Yadav, only lost eight games in his tenure after leading India in 52 games.
While Shreyas has registered series victories against New Zealand, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe, as well as the gold medal in the Asian Games, the team was whitewashed by both Ireland and England. Meanwhile, they failed to win a home series after four years, with a 2-2 draw against the West Indies earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the previous captain Suryakumar led India to victory in bilateral series the team played as well both multi-team tournaments (2025 Asia Cup and 2026 T20 World Cup) he captained the team in.
