Whitewashes in five-match T20I series in men’s cricket

20-over cricket, unlike the other two major formats of cricket, is a mode which experiences drastic swings in momentum. There have been numerous instances where the contest has changed its trajectory in the matter of a few deliveries. Even the strongest of teams possess the ability of faltering on an off day. It is often considered to be the toughest one for players to adapt due to its volatility. 

Maintaining dominance across a whole five-match series requires a lot more than skill. More importantly, it hinges on the ability to capitalise on key moments of a contest. This is one of the major reasons why T20I cricket has been witness to only two 5-0 clean sweeps in the history of T20Is across a whole lot of five-match bilateral series that have been played up until now.

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List of whitewashes in five-match T20I series in men’s cricket

1. New Zealand vs India (2020)

New Zealand got past the 200-run mark in the series-opening match to post 203/5 on the board with the help of three half-centuries via Colin Munro (59 off 42), Kane Williamson (51 off 26), and Ross Taylor (54 off 27). Each bowler from the Indian unit secured a wicket apiece other than Mohammed Shami (0/53 in 4 overs). A 99-run stand between KL Rahul (56 off 27) and Virat Kohli (45 off 32) laid the foundation for Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 29-ball 58 to take his side over the line with an over to spare. Three of the Kiwis’ bowlers (Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, Blair Tickner) conceded runs at a rate northwards of 11. India won by six wickets with as many deliveries to spare.

Coming to the second match, a couple of 33s from Martin Guptill (33 off 20) and Tim Seifert (33* off 26) were eventually why New Zealand could make it to 132/5 in their quota of 20 overs. Ravindra Jadeja (2/18 in 4 overs) was the pick of the bowlers. Run-scoring was not the easiest for the Indians, too, as they got over the line mainly due to an anchoring half-century by Rahul (57* off 50). Tickner (0/34 in 3 overs) proved to be way too expensive as compared to his other teammates, all of whom had conceded at a rate below 10.00, as the hosts found themselves 0-2 down after two games in by going down by seven wickets with 15 deliveries to spare.  

The venue shifted to Hamilton after the first two matches were played in Auckland. There were not a lot of contributions from any other batter barring Rohit Sharma (65 off 40) in the first innings of the game. This was the first time they were batting first in the series. Despite picking up three wickets, Hamish Bennett (3/54 in 4 overs) conceded at a much greater rate than his teammates. The scores were tied after Kane Williamson (95 off 48) fell just short of a maiden T20I ton. This was also one of the rare occurrences of Jasprit Bumrah (0/45 in 4 overs) proving expensive. He conceded 17 runs in the Super Over to follow, but Rohit won the game with sixes off the final couple of balls of India’s set.  

Heading into the fourth game, a third T20I half-century for Manish Pandey (50* off 36) led India to a satisfactory 165/8 in Wellington. Shreyas Iyer (1 off 7) disappointed with his first single-digit score of the 20-over series. Spinners Mitchell Santner (1/26 in 4 overs) and Ish Sodhi (3/26 in 4 overs) were the pick of the Kiwi bowlers. For the second consecutive time, the match had to be decided via a Super Over after Shardul Thakur (2/33 in 4 overs) emerged successful in defending seven off the final over. Tim Southee was unable to defend the 14-run target as the Men in Blue were one game away from whitewashing the Black Caps. 

Despite losing only three wickets, India managed to put up only 163 on the board in the final game of the series. With Kohli being rested, Rohit, who had assumed the role of interim skipper, top-scored for his team with 60 off 41 before retiring hurt on the fourth ball of the 17th over. Scott Kuggeleijn (2/25 in 4 overs) and Bennett (1/21 in 4 overs) were impressive. A top-order collapse left New Zealand 17/3 in 3.2 overs before Seifert (50 off 30) and Taylor (53 off 47) stitched a 99-run stand together. Bumrah’s 3/12 in 4 overs including a maiden over earned him the Player of the Match award. India narrowly won the game by seven runs.