The crowd love to see fast runs, big shots, and chasing thrills in T20 cricket. But even top players can have a bad day. Sometimes, they just can’t play well. They miss the ball too often. They take too many dot balls. They struggle to score runs. It happens to the best of them. So, let’s look at the five slowest T20 innings played out by Indian cricketers, not seeing runs scored at an alarming rate will surprise fans.
Top 5 Slowest T20 Innings by Indian Players
| Player | Runs Scored | Balls Faced | Strike Rate | Opponent | Year |
| Virat Kohli | 1 | 5 | 20.00 | Ireland | 2024 |
| MS Dhoni | 5 | 12 | 41.66 | South Africa | 2009 |
| Yashpal Singh | 6 | 20 | 30.00 | Punjab (IPL) | 2009 |
| R. Ashwin | 10 | 20 | 50.00 | New Zealand | 2016 |
| Yuvraj Singh | 11 | 21 | 52.38 | Sri Lanka | 2014 |
What happened in these innings?
Virat Kohli: 1 (5) vs Ireland
Virat Kohli had an abysmal outing in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he was stopped early, having attempted to attack in the powerplay. Fans expected Kohli to get going, but he only finished with 1 from 5 balls.
MS Dhoni: 5 (12) vs South Africa
It reminds me of the 2009 World T20 when India was chasing and after not scoring anything with the bat, Dhoni came out at a difficult phase, and he struggled through his innings as well. He eventually got run out, which compounded the fact that India subsequently lost the game.
Yashpal Singh: 6 (20) in Indian T20 League
Yashpal Singh opened the batting for Kolkata in 2009, but he looked diabolical on the scorecard. Luckily, one of his teammates was playing well, so his team’s run chase succeeded, but his innings was so slow it looked painful on the scorecard, 6 runs from 20 balls.
Ravichandran Ashwin: 10 (20) vs New Zealand
Ashwin had a difficult task trying to bat in adverse wicket conditions in the 2016 World Cup. He first tried to support Dhoni and went through his best shot attempts, but was unable to get any singles, so slow batting for only 10 runs will put more pressure on the team.
Yuvraj Singh: 11 (21) vs Sri Lanka
Yuvraj Singh had a tough day in the 2014 T20 World Cup Final. He struggled to hit the bat and ball and took 21 balls to score 11 runs, and slowed India down. This likely led to their loss.
Why Do Slow T20 Innings Happen?
Not every game goes according to plan. These are some common reasons for slow knocks:
- Tough bowling from the other team
- Sticky or slow pitch
- Pressure of a big match
- Trying to rebuild after losing early wickets
- Low confidence or poor form
- Even legendary players can struggle when the conditions are against them.
Fan Engagement with Real Time Stats
With today’s cricket fans not only watching the match but keeping up ball by ball on things like indibet, whether live scores or evaluating player performance, live betting apps allow fans to remain in the game, particularly on innings that are not following the well-trodden path.
Final Thoughts
T20 is quick cricket, while slow innings fall in the slow part of the game; these five innings by Indian players are included as reminders that even the best players may have a really bad day. Players like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni or Yuvraj Singh are not immune to low strike rate days. What really counts is how players come back, and Indian cricketers have always shown they can bounce back even stronger. Whether it’s a quick fifty or a slow innings like the ones listed above, fans use tools like the https://www.indibeti.com/mobile-app/Indibet betting app to follow player performance and match momentum.
