5 times India's big-names came up short in major finals

Over the years, India have produced some magnificent batsmen who have single-handedly taken their side to victory on numerous occasions. Be it Sachin Tendulkar in the late 1990s and early 2000s or Virat Kohli today, the entire nation puts their hope on these particular batsmen to perform on the big stage.

However, there are times when these batsmen falter when it matters most. With all the pressure on their shoulders, these batsmen have crumbled in big finals and disappointed a lot of fans.

In this article, we take a look at 5 big names who faltered for India in cup finals over the years.

#5 Sachin Tendulkar, 2003 World Cup final

After the infamous match-fixing scandal which rocked the cricketing world in 2000, Sourav Ganguly was the perfect man to lead the revival of the Indian cricket team. Sachin Tendulkar, who didn’t perform well with the bat when he was made captain was a beast under Ganguly’s captaincy.

Opening the batting with Virender Sehwag in the 2003 World Cup, Sachin decimated every opposition he came up against and led the Indian batting attack with aplomb. His performances against England and Pakistan will be remembered by Indian fans forever.However, he faltered when it mattered most. Chasing a mammoth total of 360 in the final against the mighty Australians, Tendulkar looked to attack right from the very beginning.After hitting Glenn Mcgrath for a four in the third delivery of the first over, Sachin went for another big shot in the next ball as well. Unfortunately, he top edged the ball and gave an easy catch to Mcgrath.

#4 Virender Sehwag, 2011 World Cup final

The 2011 World Cup will be remembered for a number of reasons. Of course, India went on to win the cup after a gap of 28 years by defeating Sri Lanka in the final held in Mumbai. The tournament was also remembered a number of individual performances from the Indian players like Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag.Sehwag became famous for hitting a four of the first delivery he faced in almost every match of the world cup. The only matches he did not do this was against Pakistan in the semifinal and Sri Lanka in the final. While he went on to score in the semis, he faltered big time in the title match.Facing Malinga in the first over of the 2nd innings while chasing 276, he was trapped behind a good length delivery in the third delivery of the over itself. He went on to review it despite it looking completely plumb.Fortunately, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir finished off the chase in style for the Men in Blue.

#3 Virat Kohli, 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final

In his first ICC tournament as captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli took India to the finals against their arch rivals Pakistan.Having defeated them comprehensively in the group stage encounter, there was a lot of pressure on Virat Kohli and his men to notch up another victory and defend their title as well.After winning the toss and opting to field first, the Pakistani batsmen took the attack to the Indian bowlers and put on a huge total of 338 in their allotted 50 overs. While people expected the Indian batsmen to chase down the total, Mohammed Amir had other ideas in mind.After removing Rohit Sharma in the very first over, Kohli was looking uncomfortable against him as well. In the 3rd ball of the 3rd over of the match, Kohli was given a life as dropped a sitter of Amir’s bowling.The Indian fans thought that might go on to be the turning point of the match with Kohli scoring a match-winning century but it was not to be as he was dismissed off the very next delivery.

#2 MS Dhoni, ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final

A lot had changed for the Indian cricket team after their victorious run in the 2011 World Cup. Big names such as Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and a few others had called it quits and there were a lot of new names in the team which travelled to England for the ICC Champions Trophy.

6 years prior to this, Dhoni led an inexperienced Indian side to the inaugural World T20 held in South Africa. He repeated the feat with a relatively inexperienced side in the 2013 Champions Trophy as well.

Unfortunately, he himself did not have a great tournament with the bat. He was looking to make amends in the final against England in a rain curtailed affair. He came out to bat when India were struggling and was looking to revive the innings.Unfortunately, he was dismissed for a duck in his third delivery itself. Unlike the World Cup final, Dhoni wasn’t able to perform in the Champions Trophy final.

#1 Yuvraj Singh, ICC World T20 2014 final

Just one and a half years after having made his comeback after recovering from cancer, Yuvraj was back in the T20 squad to take part in the World T20 held in Bangladesh.Known for performing in big ICC events, Yuvraj proved his worth when he smashed his way to a match-winning knock of 60 against Australia.

Facing Sri Lanka in the finals, there was a lot riding on Yuvraj’s shoulders and he was expected to take India to a big total having come into bat in the 11th over of the match. However, he produced an extremely bizarre performance with the bat and scored 11 runs off 20 deliveries at a strike rate of 52.38.India went on to lose the match and Yuvraj was forced to take the blame from fans across the country.