The cruelty of Sport - So near yet so far!

India's performance in the recently concluded ICC cricket ODI World Cup was nothing short of outstanding but did it mean anything? The answer is a resounding 'No' as they lost the only and most crucial game of their lives and broke a billion hearts despite playing admirably well right through the tournament beating every team by their wayside.

It was one day horribly gone wrong and unfortunately this had to happen at the most pinnacle point. Sport is cruel because ultimately when years pass by, only the victor would be remembered and whether one likes it or not, the victory team will be etched to Australia.

Australia on the other hand who started the tournament poorly raised their A game come the clutch moments most notably the semifinals and finals. They have done this time and again with their mental fortitude able to turn around any level of extreme pressure when it comes to the knock out phase. Australia haven't necessarily been the best team but they just always rise up when most needed and are undeniably unbelievably good at raising the bar in those clutch moments. 

They are now single handedly the undisputed most successful side in the history of world cup cricket especially with regard to big titles won and no other country lands a distant second. If one includes both the men's + women's combined records in World Cups, it's simply unenviable and doesn't look like being broken for the next century even if they don't happen to win anything from here on in. Such has been their dominance in the sport of cricket.

Coming to India they have been abysmally unlucky when it comes to the crunch moments. This particular defeat exacerbated the misery as it came in front of a jam packed rampaging home audience who were cheering on to end their tournament hoodoo but in eventuality it only compounded the sadness. Since their last major ICC tournament win, there have been 10 world cricketing events with India making the semifinals or finals in 9 of them but they couldn't convert the final outcome even in one of these. Consistency wise they have been the standout team but time and again failed during the inevitable horizon. It's almost become a mental or psychological issue as the team is faltering repeatedly only at the end.

The performance and skill set is definitely there as it could be argued that without it they cannot even be coming thus far every other time. But somehow the disintegration and melt down happens every time when they are just a game or two away from winning the tournament. Cricketing wise India are not the only side who have choked on important occasions but in recent times they lead the pack comprehensively. 

South Africa also have a pretty poor record when it comes to knockouts in ODI World cups. Since their re advent into cricket from the 1992 WC onwards they have lost in semifinals every alternate event ranging from 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015 and now 2023 with a majority of these being agonizingly close. They also bowed out of the 1996 and 2011 World cups in the quarter final stage thus not being able to win a single knock out game so far in ODI World Cups. The five times they made the semifinals, there were no quarter finals in those world cups meaning 7 times on 7 they have lost in the knock out games. Only 2 times in 2003 & 2019 they failed to make it to the knock out stage.

New Zealand on the other hand have also been a perennial short hand in knockout phases. They had reached the semifinals for the 5th straight time in 2023 but not able to even convert one of those into titles. Overall they have been at least into the semifinals on 8 occasions and finals twice in 13 World Cups but still don't have an ODI world cup to boast of.

Another team England who have a pretty poor record in finals turned it around by winning their first final on their 4th occasion albeit in a tied game decided by a super over on boundary count.

Looking at another team sport like Rugby, England have a similar poor record in the finals having won only once despite making the finals on 4 occasions. Ireland which is currently ranked as the best in the world currently have had perpetual heartbreak in the quarterfinals having not surpassed that stage 8 times. It almost seems as if they are cursed from not making it beyond the quarters. France has been another unlucky side losing all 3 finals they have played. The most impressive record however in Rugby happens to be the South African Springboks who unlike their cricketing counterparts the Proteas enjoy an enviable 4 out of 4 wins in the finals making them the most successful side in Rugby history. The All Blacks who are the next most successful with 3 titles have unfortunately lost both their finals to the same South African side.

Coming to football, Brazil has been the most successful in World Cups winning an unprecedented 5 titles. The next on the list is just 3 by Germany, Italy and Argentina. France who have won 2 titles in the last 25 years have also faced heartbreak losing 2 very close finals.

Thus, when it comes to team sports it's not necessarily been the most consistent and best side that has always won it but in fact the team which raises their ultimate game in the do or die crucial knock out stages. Most World Cups come down to winning just 2 matches viz the semifinal and the final and that is where some teams have faltered big time whereas certain sides soak the pressure and have that stone grind attitude to find a way how to win. South Africa in the Rugby World Cup 2023 in fact won their quarter final, semifinal and final each by just one point. Australia's record of 6 ODI titles in a total of 13 played is gut wrenching sensational considering that wins have come across different continents. It would perhaps rank as the greatest ever achievement by a sporting nation though it has to be factored in that only a few countries play cricket and even a lesser few have a stake at the trophy. Brazil's football tally of 5 is impressive though they haven't really come close to winning one in the last two decades.

Harping back to the post, it's ultimately just those tiny little moments that decide the outcome of not just a match but also a world championship. India's remarkable run in this World Cup in addition to their breathtaking form in world events over the course of the last decade hasn't yielded them any eventual final outcome. The luck factor and destiny also plays a huge role as it can be seen that India with a much weaker side of the past were able to spin off 3 major titles between 2007-2013 despite the performances in the other interim events not really being satisfactory.

On the whole it's just the fine margins. To break this long standing curse, it looks likely that luck and destiny also needs to go hand in hand along with the performances to bail the team out on those crunch tense finishes.

Sharing below a list of all ICC World cricketing events held in the men's game from the inception in 1975 with the winners and runner up in each edition. These are considered as the Big 4 tournaments with the ODI World Cup having a history of nearly half a century, Champions Trophy which began towards the end of the nineteenth century looks likely to be discontinued in the near  future, the current most popular T20 World Cup which also gets held every biennial year and the most recent World Test Championship which commenced recently after years of planning.

ODI World Cups
1) 1975 ODI WC - WI def Aus

2) 1979 ODI WC - WI def Eng

3) 1983 ODI WC - Ind def WI

4) 1987 ODI WC - Aus def Eng

5) 1992 ODI WC - Pak def Eng

6) 1996 ODI WC - SL def Aus

7) 1999 ODI WC - Aus def Pak

8) 2003 ODI WC - Aus def Ind

9) 2007 ODI WC - Aus def SL

10) 2011 ODI WC - Ind def SL

11) 2015 ODI WC - Aus def NZ

12) 2019 ODI WC - Eng def NZ

13) 2023 ODI WC - Aus def Ind

Total: Aus won 6, WI & Ind - 2, Pak, SL and Eng - 1

Champions Trophy
1) 1998 CT - SA def WI

2) 2000 CT - NZ def Ind

3) 2002 CT - SL & Ind joint winners

4) 2004 CT - WI def Eng

5) 2006 CT - Aus def WI

6) 2009 CT - Aus def NZ

7) 2013 CT - Ind def Eng

8) 2017 CT - Pak def Ind

Total: Aus & Ind - 2, SA, NZ, SL, WI, Pak - 1

T20 World Cup
1) 2007 T20 WC - Ind def Pak

2) 2009 T20 WC - Pak def SL

3) 2010 T20 WC - Eng def Aus

4) 2012 T20 WC - WI def SL

5) 2014 T20 WC - SL def Ind

6) 2016 T20 WC - WI def Eng 

7) 2021 T20 WC - Aus def NZ

8) 2022 T20 WC - Eng def Pak

Total: Eng & WI - 2, Ind, Pak, SL, Aus - 1

World Test Championship
1) 2021 WTC - NZ def Ind

2) 2023 WTC - Aus def Ind

Total: NZ & Aus - 1

Overall Total Count of Big 4 ICC Trophies
Aus - 10

Ind - 5

WI - 5

Pak - 3

SL - 3

Eng - 3

NZ - 2

SA - 1

It is pretty evident that Australia stands on top of the pile with 10 ICC World tournament victories. They are also the only side to have claimed all the Big 4 titles and have an extremely superior record hold especially in the ODI World Cups.

Australia have actually leap frogged in a big way over the last decade with double ODI trophies, a T20 WC win and also a Test Championship. Australia was 6 and India 5 before the ODI World Cup 2015 and since then Australia have scalped 4 more and raced away to double digit men's world titles. Purely taking finals, Australia have won 10 out of 13 finals played compared to India who have won only 5 out of 12 finals participated.

India on the other hand have been gravely unlucky. Nine times in the last 10 events they have reached the semifinals or finals. If they had at least converted the finals into victories, they would now be having about 9 titles in the kitty but the sad truth is they have not added to the 5 which they did over 10 years ago in the Champions Trophy of 2013. It clearly articulates Australia's big match temperament as they have been absolutely masterclass in finals not having lost a single final in their last 4 shots at the trophy. In today's era chances of winning world titles is much more than the bygone times purely because one has more opportunities. A 3 format player has a chance of a T20 WC and a WTC coming every alternate year. India's golden era of players have records absolutely to be proud of but when it comes down to team sport, they seem to be constantly falling at the final hurdle. There are 3 more chances coming up within the next one and half years viz the T20 WC 2024, CT 2025 and WTC 2025. It's a good chance to add extra titles but its essential that teams like India don't choke in the knock out games and end this unsavory precedent of not winning a singular world title despite being such a formidable and highly competitive side. 

India's 10 year draught in ICC World Cricket Tournaments

India's failure yet again to cross the finish line having bowed out to Australia in front of a jam packed voracious home crowd raises lot of questions and speculations with regard to India's ability to claim victory in major world cricketing tournaments. This unfortunate pattern has been repeating for far too long exposing the frailties and one doubts if it's a psychological issue as a team laden with such strength and skill sets who performs admirably well right through a competition manages to capitulate when it comes to the high pressure knock out games.

It is now a span of 10 completed years since India has won anything of repute with their last major victory coming in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. There are 3 more marquee world events expected to play out within the next one and half years comprising of the T20 World Cup in mid 2024 played in the US & Caribbean followed by the ODI Champions Trophy taking place in Pakistan in early 2025 followed by the 3rd cycle of the World Test Championship in England during the first half of 2025. In this interim period between 2013 to 2023, almost all the Test playing nations have captured a title barring South Africa and Bangladesh. This certainly isn't something to be proud of for a country rich in cricketing culture and heritage.

Let's briefly summarize the big ticket world cricketing events that have taken place since the ICC Champions Trophy in England, 2013.

1) 2014 T20 World Cup - Host Bangladesh - Winner Sri Lanka

2) 2015 ODI World Cup - Host Australia - Winner Australia

3) 2016 T20 World Cup - Host India - Winner West Indies

4) 2017 Champions Trophy - Host England - Winner Pakistan

5) 2019 ODI World Cup - Host England - Winner England

6) 2021 World Test Championship - Host England (Final) - Winner New Zealand

7) 2021 T20 World Cup - Host UAE (India holding Rights) - Winner Australia

8) 2022 T20 World Cup - Host Australia - Winner England

9) 2023 World Test Championship - Host England (Final) - Winner Australia 

10) 2023 ODI World Cup - Host India - Winner Australia

Thus one can see there have been regular major events held almost every year with India having plenty of opportunities but not being able to triumph in any of the 10 events since the last ascendancy coming way back in 2013. Former players, analysts, pandits and fans have been quite raucous with some even calling out for a major reshuffle in the side especially in the T20 format advocating for bringing in more fresh legs and eliminating some of the older folks. 

All this might seem to be a bit too harsh considering the team overall did play some spectacular cricket in the recently concluded ODI world cup with just one off day plunging their fortunes. The criticism may seem to be a bit too far fetched but one thing is pretty clear that people have short memories and it's only the victories that count at the end of the day. Actually speaking it might seem to be a bit of a misnomer but factually speaking India have actually been the stand out team in ICC events over the past decade. They have virtually done exceptionally well in almost all the big events but alas without any silverware to showcase. In majority of the cases, India have just been short of a match or two from winning the whole tournament. The biggest flaw has been that the team has not been able to seize the initiative and have lacked the killer instinct in the must win do or die knock out games. Sadly, India will have to abide with the title of perennial chokers till they get this monkey off the back by actually winning something of repute.

Sharing a brief synopsis of India's performances down the years in the ICC World Events.
2014 T20 World Cup:
India entered the finals and were considered firm favorites to romp home after their stellar victory over South Africa in the semi finals. The final opponents were Sri Lanka, the side India defeated in the 2011 ODI World Cup. The Lankans were firm underdogs but pulled off a spectacular showing in the finals to topple India. India's batting which was clicking match after match grossly underperformed in the final having scored just 130 in the allotted 20 overs having lost just 4 wickets. This was too meagre a total for the Lankans who managed to get there without much of a hassle.

2015 ODI World Cup:
India managed to reach the semi finals without battling a sweat. In fact they were the only unbeaten side along with New Zealand till that stage winning all 6 of their group games along with sweeping aside the Bangladeshis in the quarter final encounter. But when it came to the big match semifinal against the hosts, India came a cropper caving in rather tamely. Australia put up a 300 plus score on the board with India never in the hunt losing by almost a three figure mark.

2016 T20 World Cup:
This was a home World Cup for India and the performance in the beginning was kind of muted. They however stepped up with a closely fought must win encounter against Bangladesh followed by a sizzling closely fought quarter final win over the Aussies setting up a semi final showdown against the Windies at the Wankhede. India put up a score of almost 200 and looked to drive home the advantage but this time the bowling didn't step up when needed allowing the Windies to go surging past the total. This was a great opportunity lost to win a world cup title at home.

2017 Champions Trophy:
Another tournament dominated by India till they came undone pretty badly in the finals against arch rivals Pakistan. India had in fact comfortably hammered the same opposition in the group stage match but when it came to the final, India were totally outclassed losing by a mammoth 180 run margin. India had again come in as the favorites for the final but the manner of defeat was pretty searing to say the least.

2019 ODI World Cup:
This was a 10 team edition with each team getting to play each other and the top 4 teams making it to the semi finals. India finished right on top of the 10 teams and got to play the Kiwis who had finished 4th. India again went into the semi finals as firm favorites but again swallowed the opportunity by failing to chase a reasonable score put up by New Zealand in a rain marred game. The batting totally let them down with the team losing wickets in a heap at the beginning. Jadeja and Dhoni did offer a great fightback but it was too much to claw at and in the end it was a bitter pill to swallow for India. This was perhaps one of the best chances missed by India to claim a World Cup in England since their maiden memorable victory way back in 1983. 

2021 T20 World Cup:
This was perhaps the only time India never really showed up in a world event over the last many years. India succumbed to Pakistan finally in a World Cup match losing their golden run that too in an abject embarrassing manner going down by 10 wickets. In the other must win game against their nemesis Kiwis, India's batting faltered again allowing New Zealand to win easily. Thus, India was knocked out of the tournament before the semifinals and it was quite a major disappointment. The event was supposed to be staged in India but got moved over to the Emirates due to the Covid factor with India still retaining the hosting rights for the event.

2021 World Test Championship: (2019-2021 Window)
This was the first ever Test Championship to have been staged after years of contemplation. The top two sides were to meet in the final and India were placed right at the top with an impressive array of victories in the test format during the window of 2019-2021 including a famous back to back series win down under against the Aussies. India again were tipped as favorites going into the final but again came undone against a methodological and resolute New Zealand side. This was the first world test championship to be conducted and it can be said that India certainly missed a golden chance to go atop the honors board.

2022 T20 World Cup:
Another World Cup and another disappointment. India won the game of the tournament against their arch rivals Pakistan and easily made it to the semifinals again topping their group. But it was an absolute day to forget for the Indians in the semi finals as a marauding England side made mincemeat of India's target barraging past the total without battling an eyelid not even losing a solitary wicket in the process. Australian conditions were suiting the Indian batsman and it looked like something huge was finally coming India's way but alas it was again not to be. 

2023 World Test Championship: (2021-2023 Window)
This was the second time the World Test Championship was being staged and India again found themselves among the top two teams and this time it was a new opponent in the form of Australia who were appearing in their first WTC final. India had just recently defeated the same side in a home test series and would have gone in with some confidence. But some poor reading of the conditions along with blatant selection mistakes cost India the match right on the first day after initiating the opposition into bat. It was again a wonderful opportunity missed through the door as India again earned the tag of being runners up for a second straight showing.

2023 ODI World Cup:
This would arguably rank as the biggest colossal monumental disappointment especially considering the way India had gone right through the tournament literally dispatching, demolishing and decimating all the opponents who had come by their wayside. This time they managed to overcome the Kiwis in the semifinal and taken their win count to 10 wins on the trot. But come the all important final when India went in as clear favorites, the ship sank once again in what was the biggest game of their lives in front of a massive home crowd. The pitch was perhaps the biggest deterrent but once again cometh the moment, India just caved into the pressure and succumbed meekly against an Aussie side who further cemented their legacy as the greatest white ball champions in the history of cricket. This was a complete all encompassing performance with almost not an iota to criticize but it all unfortunately fell apart in the marquee final once again putting an abrupt halt to what had been an absolutely impressive show until then.

India's 3 major world titles in 2007, 2011 and 2013:
India did win 3 major titles viz the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy all within the span of 2007-13. This might sound like a golden period but not many can recall that India faltered big time in all the other world tourneys around that ball park. After winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, India failed to even reach the semi finals in the next 3 editions that took place in 2009, 2010 and 2012. India also failed to muster up at the 2009 Champions Trophy by not being able to reach the knock out phase in continuation to what happened at home three years prior in CT 2006. But what matters is when it really came down to being noticed, India under the astute tutelage of Mahendra Singh Dhoni were able to claim 3 major world events within a short span by establishing to go all the way. A young India did the unthinkable by claiming the inaugural T20 World Cup. India were able to soak all the pressure and raised their game in the crucial stages to win the home ODI World Cup in 2011. India also managed to rake up a Champions Trophy victory by defeating the hosts England in the final in a rain curtailed 20 over game. 

Conclusion:
Thus stats and performance points out that India have not at all been a bad side when it comes to the major cricketing events conducted over the last decade. There have been some exceptional efforts coupled with plenty of individual brilliance but however when it really came to the crunch India as a team have not been able to deliver. It feels like a "Catch 22" situation but India have virtually been just a game or two away from winning almost all the major ICC events. It is definitely an irony that India has not been able to convert even one of those into a celebration. It has to be said that India has been poor when it comes to the clutch and this has happened a little way too often than expected. Nowadays, chances of winning big tournaments are higher for the players as many world cups keep happening routinely unlike the good old days when there was only one ODI world cup scheduled every 4 years. India have had too many one off bad days and every time that has come to haunt at the back end of the tournament unfortunately stalling their progress further. It may be argued that it's just a matter of time but India do have to measure and step up big time in the crucial stages. This current defeat in the home ODI World Cup of 2023 will rankle them no end as just one bad game curtailed their entire array of sterling performance right through the tournament. The pressure is only going to be all the more immense going forward with plenty of things to ponder like handling of senior players and getting the right mix in place for all 3 formats - Tests, ODIs and T20s. Hoping India is somehow able to get the mickey off the back and claim an illustrious multi nation cup victory very soon. It may be an irony but the fact is that consistent showings count for nothing because ultimately what sticks in memory is who wins at the end of the day.