Instances When India Has Lost Matches Against Associate Nations

Cricket has always been a platform that has given teams, which are termed as underdogs, to showcase what they are capable of by getting rid of higher-ranked teams from as early as 1979, when Sri Lanka, as an associate nation back then, got the better of India, who gained Test status back in 1932, during the second ODI World Cup held in England.

Contents

Having said that, India has been lucky in the sense that they have not been on the receiving end of major upsets in international cricket a lot as compared to many other full member nations, one of them being England, who have lost matches against Afghanistan, the Netherlands and Ireland.

This Article Sheds Light on Instances When India Has Lost Matches Against Associate Nations

1979 World Cup – Sri Lanka Stun India

Although India were underdogs in the second edition of the ODI World Cup in 1979, nobody expected them to lose against Sri anka which they did. Instrestingly it was the same tournament which saw India win its first World Cup match against East Africa before turning things around in the next edition by winning it and stopping the juggernaut of the West Indies.

Coming back to the game in question, it was one of the highest points in the history of Sri Lanka as a cricketing nation, who were playing in their first World Cup.

1998 – Kenya Gets the Better of India

1998 marked the start of a memorable period for Kenya as far as playing against India is concerned. The Kenyan team was able to come out on the right side of the result in an ODI in Gwalior, which was Kenya’s first win over India in international cricket and was led by Maurice Odumbe’s all-around effort as he scored 83 runs and picked up three wickets. The win against India was a memorable moment for Kenya, who were emerging on the world stage as far as the game of cricket is concerned.

2001 – Kenya Does the Double Over India

The second time Kenya beat India was in Port Elizabeth in a tri-nation series with South Africa as the third team. The match in question saw Thomas Odoyo pick three wickets and score 51 runs to help his team register a 70-run win against India

India Hasn’t Lost an International Game Against These Associate Teams

As mentioned above, India has been quite lucky to not lose a lot of matches against associate nations, which include Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Afghanistan when all the teams hadn’t received Test status.

If we talk about India’s recent meeting with a non-Test-playing nation, it came in the 2026 T20 World Cup against the USA, who gave them a bit of a scare, but the Suryakumar Yadav-led side came out on top.