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Australia defeated India by 209 runs to win the ICC World Test Championship at the Kennington Oval in England. It was an embarrassing result for the 'Men in Blue', who have failed to win an ICC trophy since 2013. In the near 10 years since the 2013 Champions Trophy win, India have lost four ICC semi-finals and as many finals.
Batting first after losing the toss, Australia posted a mighty total of 469 in their first innings. The Australian batting effort was headlined by centuries from Steve Smith (121 runs off 268 balls) and Travis Head (163 runs off 174 balls).
In reply, India were in all sorts of trouble at 71/4 but recovered through half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane (89 runs off 129 balls) and Shardul Thakur (51 runs off 109 balls), apart from a solid knock by Ravindra Jadeja (48 runs off 51 balls).
Nevertheless, Australia had one hand on the trophy after gaining a sizeable first-innings lead of 173 runs after India were bowled out for 296.
In the second innings, Australia declared at 270/8, thereby giving India a near-impossible target of 444 to chase after a half-century from Alex Carey (66* runs off 105 balls) and contributions from Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Mitchell Starc.
In reply, India were bowled out for 234 as the likes of Virat Kohli (49 runs off 78 balls), Ajinkya Rahane (46 runs off 108 balls), and Rohit Sharma (43 runs off 60 balls) failed to convert their starts into scores of substance.
On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why India struggles in ICC knockout games.
#1 Selection debacles
In recent years, Indian cricket has witnessed way too many selection errors in ICC events. The two biggest examples of this in the WTC final were picking Umesh Yadav over Ravichandran Ashwin and KS Bharat over Ishan Kishan.
Ashwin would have been a real asset to the Indian side against an Australian batting line-up that consisted of five left-handed batters. Yadav, who, as it is suffered a hamstring injury during the IPL 2023, struggled for rhythm throughout the match.
On the other hand, Ashwin would not just trouble batters in conditions that favored him but also provide more depth to the Indian batting line-up.
Ishan Kishan too should have been picked over Bharat, as he would be a like-for-like replacement for Indian star Rishabh Pant, whose counter-attacking style of batting in test matches has neutralized several top bowling attacks in the world. It seemed that with Bharat, India were being rather conservative in their selection process.
In previous ICC events too, like the 2019 World Cup, India has made some questionable selections, such as picking Vijay Shankar over a seasoned Ambati Rayudu or going with an out-of-form Yuvraj Singh in the 2014 and 2016 World T20s and the 2017 Champions Trophy.
The lack of including a wrist spinner in the 2021 and 2022 World T20s also hurt India's chances greatly. Thus, India must improve its selection choices before the 2023 World Cup to pick the best players based on the conditions, fitness, and recent form.
#2 Fitness woes and workload management
Perhaps the biggest areas of concern for Indian cricket are workload management and fitness issues surrounding players.
India entered the WTC final with injuries to four of their first-11 players, namely KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah. A depleted Indian side found it very hard to compete with a near-full-strength Australian side, most of whose players skipped the IPL to be well-rested for the final.
Another issue before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the workload management of players. The IPL final went well into the early hours of May 30, meaning that most Indian players barely had enough practice sessions before the WTC final, and fatigue had already kicked in amongst the Indian camp.
The Indian team lacked energy, hostility, and aggression throughout the course of their bowling efforts in both innings, something that had become a hallmark of the Indian side under Virat Kohli.
Thus, BCCI will have to ensure that the injured players return to full fitness before the World Cup and that all players are fresh and well-rested before the marquee event in October-November.
#3 Overreliance on a few players and basic errors in pressure situations
Over the years, the Indian team has been overreliant on Virat Kohli on way too many occasions, such as the 2014, 2016, 2021, and 2022 World T20s.
Apart from Kohli too, there has been a general overreliance on the top order, and whenever the top order fails, India eventually lose the game, such as in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final and 2019 World Cup semi-final.
This was not the case when India won the World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013. Thus, India must look for a team effort, as the matches will only get tougher and tougher in the knockout stages of ICC events, and only a team effort can take India to glory.
Choking in pressure situations and the inability to do the basics right in tense games have cost India dearly. For example, the Jasprit Bumrah no-ball against Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman in the 2017 Champions Trophy Final. Zaman went on to score a hundred.
The two no-balls by Ravichandran Ashwin and Hardik Pandya also cost India the game against the West Indies in the 2016 World T20 semi-finals. Thus, India should focus on getting the basics right and remaining calm in high-intensity clashes.
