 "India in ICC tournaments since 2013: 2022 semi-final heartbreak vs England and other agonising defeats")
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup is set for its final stretch with the knockout clashes taking place over the course of the next three days. While South Africa vs Afghanistan clash in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago will give the tournament a maiden finalist, India and England are set for a rematch of the 2022 semi-final in Adelaide when they square off in Guyana later on Thursday.
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India have become somewhat accustomed to heartbreaks in global events for quite sometime now, having not won an ICC event for more than a decade after winning three of them in a span of six years under MS Dhoni’s leadership. Incidentally, it was England whom they had defeated in the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy the last time they had won a global event.
Read | 'Can't see India losing this time, England will need something extraordinary': Collingwood
The Men in Blue will be hoping to end that barren run this week in the tournament that is Rahul Dravid’s final assignment as head coach and is also widely seen as a final opportunity for captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to lift a World Cup trophy together after having done so on separate occasions earlier.
In the build-up to the India vs England semi-final clash at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana, we take a look at India’s heartbreaks in ICC events since their 2013 Champions Trophy victory:
Impact Shorts
More Shorts2014 T20 World Cup final vs Sri Lanka:
Less than a year after breezing through the Champions Trophy unbeaten, the Men in Blue had entered the 2014 T20 World Cup summit clash without losing a single match and were strong favourites to win the tournament for a second time.
India, however, would end up posting a sub-par total of 130/4 in which Virat Kohli (77 off 58) was the only batter to make a substantial contribution. Kumar Sangakkara led from the front with an unbeaten 52 to help the Lankans avenge their defeat in 2011 and win their maiden T20 World Cup title and as well as their first World Cup victory since 1996.
2015 ODI World Cup semi-final vs Australia: India would once again remain unbeaten in their run to the semi-finals of the 2015 ODI World Cup, registering one comprehensive victory after another until running into tournament co-hosts Australia in the semis. The Men in Blue’s defence of the ODI World Cup title that they had won at home in 2011 would end with 95-run defeat in Sydney with the Michael Clarke-led Aussies bowling the Indians out for 233 after posting a formidable 328/7 on the board thanks primarily to Steve Smith’s (105 off 93) match-winning ton.
Dhoni, who had scored an unbeaten 91 in the 2011 final, was run-out for a run-a-ball 65 while attempting to take the game deep. Australia would later go on to defeat New Zealand in the final and win their fifth ODI world title.
2016 T20 World Cup semi-final vs West Indies: In what was Dhoni’s last match as India captain in an ICC event, the Men in Blue posted a formidable total of 192/2 after being invited to field at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, with Kohli top-scoring for the Indians with a blistering 89 not out off 47 balls.
His knock, however, would get overshadowed by Lendl Simmons’ 82 not out off 51 balls along with supporting acts from opener Johnson Charles (52 off 36) and Andre Russell (43 not out off 20 balls) as the West Indians chased the target down with seven wickets and two balls to spare, and would later go on to defeat England in a tense final to win their second T20 world title in four years under Daren Sammy’s leadership.
2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan: India suffered their second defeat in the final of an ICC event in three years with a stunning 180-run loss against arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash of the 2017 Champions Trophy at The Oval in London. The Men in Blue once again started favourites, having thrashed Pakistan earlier in the tournament, with Virat Kohli — leading India in a global event for the first time — opting to field.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman would smash a match-winning 114, getting a reprieve on 3 thanks to a Jasprit Bumrah no-ball as Pakistan posted a daunting 338/4 on the board. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir (3/16) would then get rid of the Indian top three in quick fashion to help the Pakistanis bowl their arch-rivals out for a meagre 158.
2019 ODI World Cup semi-final vs New Zealand: In what would later turn out to be the final match of MS Dhoni’s international career, India would suffer a heartbreak at the hands of the New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 ODI World Cup in Manchester. The match was completed across two days with the ‘Reserve Day’ having to be used due to heavy rain on the scheduled date. New Zealand posted a competitive 239/8 on the board thanks to half-centuries from Ross Taylor (74) and Kane Williamson (67).
For the second time in as many ICC knockout clashes, the Men in Blue lost wickets in a heap early in their innings, getting reduced to 24/4 at the end of the 10th over. The middle-order trio of Hardik Pandya (32), Dhoni (50) and Ravindra Jadeja (77) managed to take the game deep, but the game was as good as over once Dhoni was run-out thanks to a direct hit by Martin Guptill from backward square leg.
2021 T20 World Cup vs Pakistan and New Zealand: India’s run in the 2021 T20 World Cup is easily their worst performance in an ICC event in a decade, and one their most underwhelming World Cup campaigns ever. What headlined their underwhelming campaign was their shock defeat against Pakistan in their tournament opener in Dubai, resulting in Pakistan finally ending their World Cup — ODI or T20 — jinx against India.
India suffered yet another top-order collapse but had managed to crawl to 151/7 thanks to a hard-fought fifty from skipper Kohli (57). Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, however, made a mockery of the target with an unbroken 152-run partnership, helping the Men in Green begin their campaign with a thumping 10-wicket victory.
The defeat had dented their confidence and the Indians would collapse like a house of cards against New Zealand in their subsequent fixture, posting a sub-par 110/7 that the Black Caps overhauled with eight wickets and nearly five overs to spare.
2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England: India and England had met in the semi-finals of the previous T20 World Cup and it was Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler who were leading India and England back then as well. Hardik Pandya’s fiery 63 off 33 balls along with Virat Kohli’s 50 off 40 helped India post what appeared to be a competitive total of 168/6 in Adelaide.
Buttler and opening partner Alex Hales, who had recently been recalled to the national team, would end up doing a Babar and Rizwan, only overhauling an even bigger target on an even bigger occasion all by themselves as England cruised to 170/0 to storm into the final. It is this performance that the Englishmen are drawing inspiration from while the Men in Blue seek revenge.
2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia: As was the case in the 2014 T20 World Cup and the 2015 ODI World Cup, the Indians had bulldozed their way into the final unbeaten with a clinical campaign in the group stage while the Aussies faced the prospect of missing out on the semis after defeats against India and South Africa in their first two fixtures.
India were bowled out for 240 in the final, experiencing a slowdown in the middle overs after a strong start provided by captain Rohit. Australia, in reply, were reduced to 47/3 at one stage but ended up overhauling the target with six wickets and seven overs to spare thanks to Travis Head’s match-winning 137 off 120 balls.
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