The Indian cricket team is one of the most consistent, brilliantly performing teams in the world. The Indian team has won two ODI World Cups, the second most by any team. Over the years, Indian cricket’s graph ray has risen up. The team has introduced great talents in all formats of cricket. Currently, the Indian cricket team is one of the best teams in the world, with the presence of world-class players. However, despite remarkable achievements over the years, there have been times when the Indian team faced failures despite preconceived success. In this article, we have listed the top 5 sad moments of the Indian team in the 50-overs world cup.
- Losing the 2003 World Cup in the Final
Then captain Ganguly-led Men in Blue was a final win away in 2003 to lift the second world cup for India. The Indian team performed brilliantly throughout the whole tournament of the 2003 world cup. The absolutely brilliant performance got the Indian team to the finals where it had to face mighty Australia. All the hopes vanished when Poiniting-led Australia defeated India in the final by a huge margin of 125 runs.
- Lost Semi-Final to Sri Lanka in 1996
Indian fans regained hope with flashbacks of the 1983 world cup when India qualified for the semis in 1996 world cup to meet Sri Lanka head-to-head. India was at the verge of lifting its second world cup in 1996 but the Sri Lankan team destroyed all the hopes and defeated India in the Semis.
- Disastrous performance in the 2007 world cup
This was the same year when India had recorded a massive win in the final against Pakistan in the T-20 World Cup tournament to lift their first ever trophy in 20-overs format. Despite a great win in the final of the short format, the team could not perform up to the mark and was eliminated before making through to semis.
- Shocking Defeat in the 2015 world cup semi-final
The 2015 world cup went really well for the Indian team except for the jarring defeat in the semi-final by Australia. The Indian team dominated in the initial matches of the 2015 world cup tournament and everybody hoped that India would easily win the world cup. However, the hopes vanished when the host Australia defeated India in the semis.
- Most Unexpected Elimination in 2019 World Cup
After the win of the 2011 world cup, the Indian team has walked in a consistent way to perform superbly in the ICC events. In 2019, India has a record of losing major ICC titles after coming very close to winning them. And the 2019 world cup was one of them. India faced New Zealand on an unusual wicket in the semis. Analyzing the overall performance in the tournament, fans hoped that India will easily defeat New Zealand but the real twist came when India was unconventionally thrashed by the Kiwi in the semis. MS Dhoni’s run out moment was the most emotional moment for Indian fans and the team itself.
