T20 World Cup: India’s journey from clinching maiden trophy to repeated heartbreaks

New Delhi, June 1 (IANS) Six months after the bittersweet ODI World Cup campaign, Indian cricket fans embrace and turn their attention to the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the hope that Rohit & Co can finally end the 11-year ICC trophy drought that the country is suffering.

From the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007 in South Africa to the ninth edition of the tournament set to take place in the United States of America and the Caribbean, here is a look at India’s journey across 17 years:

2007 World Cup

India made history by becoming the first-ever winner of the T20 World Cup. The tournament was full of memorable moments like the iconic India-Pakistan bowl-off and Gautam Gambhir’s heroics in the final.

Gambhir’s 75 in the final helped a struggling side put up a defendable total. Alongside Gambhir, Rohit Sharma was also responsible for a quickfire 30 runs in the final which propelled India’s score to 157 against Pakistan.

Wickets at regular intervals saw the Pakistan side struggle until Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir’s crucial cameos with Misbah-ul-haq saw the game tilt in the Men in Green’s favour. India needed to defend 12 runs in the final five deliveries with only one wicket remaining.

The second ball of the over bowled by Joginder Sharma was slammed by Misbah for six over long-on and it seemed the game was over. An attempt to scoop the ball over fine leg on the next delivery saw Sreesanth take a comfortable catch and secure victory for India.

Struggle to reach the knockouts

In eight editions of the tournament played so far, Team India have failed to make the knockouts in four.

2009

Defending champions India entered the 2009 tournament with high expectations. After topping their group they faced tough opposition in England, South Africa, and the West Indies. The Men in Blue finished at the bottom of their group after failing to win a single game. South Africa went on to lose to eventual winners Pakistan in the semifinal.

2010

The very next year saw India’s struggles continue as they faced hosts West Indies, Australia, and Sri Lanka in the Super Eight and once again failed to register a win, making it two Super Eight eliminations in a row.

2012

The 2012 T20 World Cup was a strange one for India, playing in the sub-continent with Sri Lanka as the host, India faced Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan in the Super 8.

The Men in Blue registered two wins against S.A. and Pak, respectively. But a devastating nine-wicket loss against Australia saw them miss out on a spot in the semifinals, making it the third consecutive early exit for the country.

2021

The 2021 T20 World Cup was perhaps the worst display by India in the World Cup. Not only did the team lose its first-ever World Cup match against Pakistan, it lost to New Zealand as well in the group stages which resulted in the team being knocked out in the preliminary round itself.

Knockout heartbreak

2014

The tournament was Virat Kohli’s first ICC tournament in which he displayed his full capabilities, scoring 319 runs including 77 runs in the final against Sri Lanka. But his performances went in vain as India could only put up a score of 130 runs in the game, a target which was chased in 18 overs by Sri Lanka.

Kohli’s 319 runs in six innings still stands as the most by a player in a single edition.

2016

India’s performance in the 2016 World Cup was a bittersweet one. Despite losing their first game of the Super 10’s stage against New Zealand, hosts India went on to win against Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Australia in their next three games to secure a well-deserved semifinal berth. The semifinal at Wankhede was won by West Indies, who went on to beat England in the final.

2022

India and England faced off in Adelaide in the semifinals of the tournament. Virat Kohli’s fifty runs and Hardik Pandya’s blistering 63 off 33 took the side to 168 runs in the first innings. Unfortunately for India, Jos Buttler and Alex Hales were two men in form on the night as the opening partners remained undefeated helping England romp to an easy 10-wicket victory for England.

Virat Kohli’s dominance

Virat Kohli made his T20 World Cup debut in the 2012 edition of the tournament and what has followed since has been nothing short of historic. Throughout the five editions he has played in, he has scored 1141 runs in 25 innings across five editions at an average of 81.5 and a strike rate of 131.3. He has scored 14 half-centuries, the most in the tournament’s history, and is also the only player to win the Player of the Tournament award twice.

Spinners lead the way

Ravichandran Ashwin is India’s most successful bowler in the history of the tournament. The 37-year-old played his first T20 World Cup in 2012 and has taken 32 wickets in the five editions of the tournament. He is followed by Ravindra Jadeja who has 21 to his name. Irfan Pathan is India’s highest wicket-taking pacer with 16 to his name.

Rohit Sharma is one of the only two players (Shakib Al Hasan is the other) to play in every edition of the tournament. The Hitman has scored 963 runs in 39 matches at an average of 34.39 and a strike rate of 127.88 across eight editions.

–IANS

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