In a surprising turn of events at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India suffered a four-wicket defeat against Australia in the second T20I, handing the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. More significantly, this loss brought an unexpected end to one of the most remarkable streaks in international cricket: all-rounder Shivam Dube’s record of 37 consecutive T20I matches without a single defeat since his debut in 2019.
During this extraordinary period, Team India celebrated 34 victories, with three matches concluding in no-results. Dube’s last experience on a losing T20I side dated back over 2,150 days ago, in December 2019 against the West Indies. His unparalleled streak, the longest in T20I history, even surpassed the impressive runs of Uganda’s Pascal Murungi (27 matches) and India’s very own Jasprit Bumrah (24 matches).
The Melbourne debacle wasn’t just a setback for Dube; it also saw the end of Bumrah’s 23-match unbeaten streak in T20Is. Furthermore, it halted Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive run of nine consecutive wins as captain, leaving him just two victories shy of Rohit Sharma’s Indian record of eleven.
The match itself proved to be a batting nightmare for India. On a challenging MCG pitch, Josh Hazlewood delivered a sensational performance, taking 3 wickets for just 13 runs in his four overs. India were eventually bowled out for a modest 125, with Abhishek Sharma providing a valiant effort with a fighting 68 off 37 balls. Harshit Rana contributed 35 off 33 deliveries, adding some much-needed respectability to the total.
Dube, batting lower down the order, had minimal opportunity to make a significant impact. Australia comfortably chased down the target in just 13.2 overs, marking one of India’s biggest T20I defeats in terms of balls remaining.
Top five biggest T20I losses for India (by balls remaining):
- 52 – vs Australia, Melbourne 2008
- 40 – vs Australia, Melbourne 2025
- 33 – vs Sri Lanka, Colombo 2021
- 33 – vs New Zealand, Dubai 2021
- 31 – vs Australia, Colombo 2012
Despite the disappointing outcome for India, the end of Dube’s remarkable streak quickly became a source of amusement on social media. Memes and jokes flooded timelines as fans humorously acknowledged the fall of one of cricket’s most unusual records.