Why Narendra Modi Stadium Hasn’t Been Kind to India in ICC Events?

The long and undefeated streak of the Indian team in the ICC events has come to an end. And it ended at the same venue where India lost its last ICC match in 2023, the Narendra Modi Stadium. After 823 days, India suffered its first-ever defeat in ICC tournaments, ending the long dominant run.

Every dominant team has one weakness. For some it may be another team while for others it may be playing without their veteran players. But for the Indian team, it is the Narendra Modi Stadium. After a dominant run in the Group stages, India progressed to the Super Eight stages of the T20 World Cup 2026.

And with its first clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium, it was expected to be a thriller. But India went down way too short in this game, ending their streak. For the first time since 19 November 2023, India has lost an ICC tournament match. The streak of 17 games and 823 days has now officially come to an end.

Let's take a look at the two brutal losses suffered by the team at this venue, which affected the streak.

India vs Australia: 2023 World Cup Final

The Indian team were the hosts of the ODI World Cup in 2023. Taking the home ground advantage in every game, they marched into the finals with wins in all 9 games. Later in the semi-final match, they were also able to hand a defeat to the 2019 ghosts New Zealand. With 10 consecutive wins, it was time to get the 11th at Narendra Modi Stadium.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

On the other hand, they had to go against the powerhouse, Australia. The Aussies have been known for the big games but India has proven to be a strong team in this edition. Australia was able to win this toss and they decided to bowl first. It was a big call by the skipper Pat Cummins, as the Indian team went on to bat first.

Shubman Gill lost his wicket early to Mitchell Starc, but Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continued scoring runs for the team. It was until Rohit Sharma lost his wicket to Glenn Maxwell, followed by an impressive catch by Travis Head. Shreyas Iyer, who was the star in the semi-final, also lost his wicket quickly.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli tried their best to keep the run rate going. Kohli, who had the best World Cup campaign, got dismissed after scoring 54 runs, and that's where the batting line-up shattered. Rahul managed to score 66, while the contributions from the lower order were minimal. India played all 50 overs but scored just 240 runs, being all out.

Australia also had a troubling start to the chase. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were able to get the most of their top-order batsmen, putting them at 47/3. But Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head went on to dominate in the middle overs for the Australian team. Travis Head also smashed a century in the World Cup final, which shattered the hopes for the Indian team.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

After winning a massive total of 10 games consecutively, India suffered a major loss. If India had won this game, things would have been so different for the ICT. But the Narendra Modi Stadium and the Australian team brought down a big nightmare for the team and fans.

India vs South Africa: T20 World Cup 2026

And after 823 days, India was again playing a crucial match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. It was India's first Super Eight clash, and they were going against South Africa. Two teams undefeated in the group stages, ready to go against each other. South Africa was able to win the toss and they batted first.

Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh did a great job to get rid of the top order. But David Miller, Dewald Brevis, and Tristan Stubbs troubled the bowlers in the middle overs. With Miller scoring a half-century, Stubbs finished well to help South Africa score 187 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.

With India's batting strength, the target must seem easy to chase to any cricket fan. But the Indian batsmen struggled to a great extent. Within the powerplay, the team lost wickets of Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma. Only Shivam Dube stayed as the top performer for the team, even when other batters failed.

Shivam Dube scored 42 runs off 37 balls, while no other batter even crossed the 20-run mark. India was all out at the score of 111, suffering a massive 76-run defeat. This was India's first in 823 days, and amidst this time, the team had won two ICC trophies. But coming back to this ground was not a good game for them.