From Mirpur 2014 to Manchester 2019, a look at Team India's knockout heartbreaks in ICC events

The Indian cricket team has been fairly consistent when it comes to ICC tournaments, reaching the knockouts more often than not, and having tasted success across all the major competitions, including the prized ODI World Cup.

This year, the Men in Blue qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup Down Under on the back of strong performances in the league stage, where they finished on top of their group 2.

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The team bowing out in the group stage last year seemed an aberration of sorts, but it appears normalcy has been restored with Rohit Sharma and Co progressing to the last four.

However, it is the business end of these big events that haven’t been too kind towards the Indians of late. After the glorious, trophy-laden chapter of Indian cricket that is MS Dhoni’s reign, where India won the T20 and ODI World Cups as well as the Champions Trophy, Team India has found itself losing crunch encounters, the ones that matter the most.

And so often have India endured heartbreaks in such matches over the years that they face the danger of becoming associated with the dreaded C-word that South Africa has grown accustomed to.

Ahead of India’s semi-final clash against England in Adelaide on Thursday, we take a look at the knockout punches dealt to India in ICC events in the last eight years:

Lost to Sri Lanka by six wickets, 2014 T20 World Cup Final, Mirpur

Less than a year since lifting the Champions Trophy in Birmingham, India were on the cusp of winning a second ICC trophy — one that could’ve been their second T20 world title. And while India looked every bit a deserved winner in their run to the final, they failed to carry the momentum of their wins in the group stage and in the semis over to the final, where they locked horns with a spirited Sri Lankan side that was determined to end a jinx of their own.

Barring Virat Kohli, who struck a valiant 77, none of the Indian batters got going against the disciplined Lankan attack, with the likes of Yuvraj Singh scoring at a strike rate slightly above 50. Their modest total of 130 hardly proved a challenge for the Sri Lankans, who finally won their first ICC title since the legendary 1996 triumph with Kumar Sangakkara’s unbeaten 52 guiding them to a six-wicket win.

Lost to Australia by 95 runs, 2015 Cricket World Cup semi-final, Sydney

A little over a year after their defeat against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup final, India would relinquish their hold on the Cricket World Cup with a 95-run hammering against Australia in Sydney.

Future captains Aaron Finch and Steve Smith took the attack to the Indian bowlers not long after the tournament hosts lost an early wicket of David Warner. The pair would then build the foundation for a mammoth total with a 182-run second-wicket stand, with Smith departing shortly after bringing up his fourth ODI ton.

India, in reply, began bravely with a 76-run opening stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma before losing wickets in a cluster that allowed the Aussies to wrest control of the game.

This is the match when Virat Kohli top-edged to a Mitchell Johnson bouncer and perished for a one run.

Skipper Dhoni tried recreating the magic of his unbeaten 91 in Mumbai four years back, but his dismissal for a run-a-ball 65 signalled the end of India’s hopes of pulling off a miracle.

Lost to West Indies by 7 wickets, 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final, Mumbai

As was the case last year in the Cricket World Cup, India would end up getting stopped on their tracks in the semis by the eventual winners — West Indies in this case. Kohli followed up his brilliant 82 not out against Australia in their final Super 12 clash with an unbeaten 89 against the Windies to guide the Men in Blue to 192/2 at the Wankhede Stadium, a total they would’ve assumed was a safe one. And with the Windies tottering at 19/2 in the powerplay during the chase, the hosts would’ve mentally been making plans for a summit clash against England in Kolkata.

The trio of Johnson Charles (52), Lendl Simmons (82 not out), and Andre Russell (43 not out) had other plans though, as they would pull off a sensational recovery and help the team reach a second final in four years.

Lost to Pakistan by 180 runs, 2017 Champions Trophy final, London

India entered the contest as the rank favourites, having thrashed Pakistan comprehensively in the group stage earlier in the tournament and not having lost a match against the Men in Green in an ICC event in eight years.

A fateful no-ball by Jasprit Bumrah, however, would serve as an omen of the things to come as Fakhar Zaman, the batter who got the reprieve thanks to Bumrah’s overstepping, would go on to smash 114. With supporting acts from Azhar Ali (59) and Mohammad Hafeez (57 not out), Pakistan posted a humungous 338/4 on the board.

India, in reply, suffered the all-too-familiar top-order collapse at the hands of a rampaging Mohammed Amir, both Rohit and Kohli departing for single-digit scores, and the writing was pretty much on the wall by the time Dhawan and Yuvraj were dismissed. Hardik Pandya’s (76) late fightback prevented the team from getting bundled out for less than 100 and only helped delay the inevitable.

Lost to New Zealand by 18 runs, 2019 Cricket World Cup semi-final, Manchester

India had struck early after the Black Caps opted to bat, getting rid of Martin Guptill for 1, but skipper Kane Williamson (67) and batter Ross Taylor would get the team back on its feet by scoring half-centuries. Despite a late fightback from the Indian bowling unit, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar snaring three wickets in the third powerplay, the Kiwis managed to post 239/8 on the board.

It was a score the Men in Blue would’ve fancied chasing down, however, rain gods decided to take over for the day, which meant the match would go to the reserve day and the Kiwis swing bowlers had a crack at Indian batters on a breezy morning instead of the night under lights.

For the second time in as many ICC events, however, the Indian top-order crumbled; KL Rahul, Rohit, and Kohli departed for identical scores of 1, and by the time Dinesh Karthik was dismissed, India were staring at a huge defeat. Team India did fight back through their middle order though, first with Rishabh Pant and Pandya, both scoring 32, followed by Dhoni (50) and Ravindra Jadeja’s (77) half-centuries.

Dhoni carried India to the brink, only for a brilliant direct hit from Guptill to catch him short of the striker’s end, signalling not only the end of India’s hopes of reaching a second Cricket World Cup final that decade, but also the end of MSD’s international career.

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