The Indian cricket team suffered another heartbreaking defeat on Sunday to throw away their chance of winning an ICC Trophy. Rohit Sharma and Co. were completely outclassed by Australia in the World Test Championship Final at the Oval, London. The last time when India won an ICC trophy was way back in the 2013 Champions Trophy and since then they have struggled in the knockout matches of the mega ICC tournaments and the wait for another title continues with a defeat on Sunday.
It was not the first time when India failed to get over the line in an ICC tournament final since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
Indian Heartbreaks in ICC Finals
2014 T20 World Cup Final vs Sri Lanka – Lost
India were too close to win their second T20 WC trophy way back in 2014 but they lost the low-scoring final against their neighbours. Lasith Maling won the toss and invited India to bat first on a tricky surface where the Indian batters struggled to get going apart from Virat Kohli who scored 77 runs off 58 balls to help his team post 130/4 in 20 overs. However, Sri Lanka managed to chase it down with 13 balls to spare courtesy Kumar Sangakkara’s 52-run knock.
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2017 Champions Trophy Final vs Pakistan – Lost
It was a shocking loss for India as they were the hot favourites to win the title but their arch-rivals Pakistan managed to stun the world courtesy Fakhar Zaman’s ton and Mohammad Amir’s magical spell. Pakistan posted 338/4 while batting first and in reply, India’s trinity – Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were dismissed early by Amir which put the Men in Blue on the mat and they failed to recover after that. India lost the final by 180 runs.
2021 World Test Championship Final vs New Zealand – Lost
India became a force to reckon with in Test cricket under Virat Kohli’s leadership and he guided the Asian giants to the inaugural WTC Final but it turned out to be a heartbreak. They made some selection mistakes as despite the first day of the match getting washed due to rain and overcast conditions throughout the match, India stuck with two spinners in the playing XI. On the other hand, New Zealand went all guns blazing with a five-man pace attack in Southampton. It was a disappointing loss for India as their hard work for almost two years bit the dust with New Zealand winning the summit clash by 8 wickets.
IND vs AUS WTC Final Day 5 Highlights
2023 World Test Championship Final vs Australia – Lost
Two years later nothing changed for Team India as they lost their second-straight World Test Championship Final. Clinical Australia hammered an underprepared Indian team in the all-important clash by 209 runs to clinch the World Test Championship. It was another heartbreak for India as Australia put up an all-round show and Rohit Sharma and Co. looked no match to them in the summit clash. The Indian batters made the same valiant efforts with the bat in both innings but they weren’t enough as the Australian bowlers looked well prepared for the Oval Pitch. India’s decision to not play a warm-up match before the WTC final backfired for them as the players looked unprepared for the red-ball cricket after investing about two months in the Indian Premier League. While several Australian players missed the IPL and prepared well for the WTC final and it paid off for them as players like Travis Head, Steve Smith, Alex Carrey and Scott Boland were standout performers for them in the ultimate Test.
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