Indian cricket team has lost their second successive series after the nine-wicket drubbing in Bristol. The Men in Blue managed to score a mere 158, which the hosts easily chased down with more than six overs left to play. Shreyas Iyer was left frustrated after Harry Brook blew away his side and shared an unbeaten 146-run stand with Phil Salt for the second wicket.

Indian politician Shashi Tharoor took to his X handle and expressed his frustration about the latest loss. The veteran lawmaker wrote, “I’m truly speechless. Dumbfounded. Gobsmacked. This is one humiliation too many. There is literally nothing to be said.” Tharoor also tagged chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Gautam Gambhir in the tweet.

The current T20 champions had reached Bristol, aiming to win the game and keep the series alive. Having opted to bat first, the visiting side conjured up a below-par total on the board. Apart from Iyer’s knock of 80 not out, none of the batters managed to put up a substantial total on the board.

Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, yet again, were the pick of the bowlers, claiming two wickets each. In response, Arshdeep Singh was the only wicket-taker for the Indian side. Salt scored an unbeaten 59 off 42 balls, while skipper Brook scored 79 not out from 35 balls. Right-handed batter hit eight boundaries and four huge sixes in his knock as England won the game with 37 deliveries left to play.

What next for India’s T20I side?

The final game of the series is set to be played on Saturday in Southampton before the ODI series begins. India’s skipper cut a sorry figure yet again and spoke about the transition phase that his team is going through. Injuries to Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy also didn’t help matters.

Tilak Varma’s form will be a huge cause of concern, and one could see the batter being rested for the final game. 23-year-old 51 runs in the current series with an average of 17 and a strike rate of 118. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma have been getting good starts but haven’t been converting them into big scores.

There will also be questions raised on Ishan Kishanwho reached the number 1 ranking in this format not too long ago. The 27-year-old had scored just 66 runs from four games and needs a big score on the board. Team management could also give Sanju Samson one more look-in during the final game of the series.