India vs South Africa 2015: Hosts cannot boast of an enviable record in T20Is

India have lost as many games as they have won in T20Is on home soil, unlike their domination in Tests and ODIs.

The Indian cricket team are back to business in a matter of a few days after getting an entire month off following their triumphant tour of Sri Lanka. After making their country proud with the 2-1 Test series victory against the island nation in August, India now face a tough challenge in the form of South Africa, who seek to conquer the one nation where they do not have a very good record to speak of. Amit Banerjee takes a look at India’s Twenty20 International (T20I) record on their home soil, and explains what relevance that could have on their upcoming campaign.

The 2015-16 cricketing season is almost at our doorstep, and cricket fans have a plenty to look forward to. From Pakistan clashing against Zimbabwe in the ongoing series before facing England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), West Indies touring Sri Lanka, Australia travelling to Bangladesh (yet to be confirmed after security concerns) to India’s much awaited battles against the South Africans, who will be playing in India for the first time since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India however hold the mental edge over the Proteas at the moment, mainly due to their enviable record on home soil.

Most international teams, especially the non-subcontinental ones, struggle in India due to pitches that mostly are flat in nature with nothing in for the bowlers. Add other factors such as the ‘Delhi Belly’ (food poisoning that a lot of foreign tourists end up getting on tours), and the tourists end up staring at a vast number of hurdles on their way to their goal of ending as winners. While India has a proud record to boast of in both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI) played on home soil, it may not have the same privilege in T20Is, where they have lost as many games as they have won.

India’s record in T20Is at home

India have played a total of 11 games in the format, with the ‘Men in Blue’ winning the first one against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by seven wickets in October 2007. India would then share honours with Sri Lankan in a two-match series in 2009, losing and winning by 29 runs and six wickets respectively. In October 2011, England managed to defeat India in the one-off T20I to win their first, and only, match of their doomed tour in which they conceded a 0-5 series defeat to a resurgent India.

India would then go on to concede a 0-1 series defeat to New Zealand, with one match abandoned, in September 2012, before sharing the series 1-1 against England later that year. Just three days later, Pakistan would face India in their first game of the tour of India, something that had not happened in five years. India lost the first game by five wickets, before pulling back with a victory in the second game to level the series 1-1. The hosts would however, go on to lose the ODI series 1-2 against their arch-rivals. In their last T20I before the upcoming series against South Africa, India pulled off a six-wicket triumph to win the one-off T20I series in 2013.

India may not have the best of record in T20Is on their home soil to boast of, but what matters is that they are still favourites on their own turf, something that the Proteas will be talking about in their meetings and practice sessions. MS Dhoni, who has led India in all their 10 T20Is at home, will also look to getting back to winning ways after a couple of hiccups in the recent past.

(Amit Banerjee, a reporter at CricketCountry, takes keen interest in photography, travelling, technology, automobiles, food and, of course, cricket. He can be followed on Twitter via his handle @akb287)

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