Top 3 underdog achievements in the 21st century

Winning World titles in any sports is an arduous task. It requires extensive planning and tremendous execution of the skills as a group to come out on top when it actually matters the most.

Like big teams, underdogs form a pivotal part of an competition. With the insatiable desire to succeed against the 'Big Boys' and make people take notice of 'em, we've seen a plethora of jaw-dropping performances from the underdog teams over the years.

Having said that, in this article today, we'll have a look at three underdog teams who defied the odds stacked against them and went on to become champions.

---

#3 West Indies, ICC Champions Trophy, 2004

West Indies, ICC Champions Trophy, 2004

The Windies had been on a downward spiral for a better part of a decade coming into the 2004 Champions Trophy. Even the most ardent Caribbean fans were not backing their team to lift the coveted silverware.

Heads turned when an inspired unit led by Brian Lara defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals to book their place alongside hosts England for the finale.

At 8-147, the Windies looked down and out of the game after England, thanks to a pristine hundred from opener Marcus Trescothick (104), were bowled out for 217 in the finals of Champions Trophy, 2004.

The magnanimity of Trescothick's innings can be estimated from the fact that next best score was by left-arm spin bowler Ashley Giles (31).

Windies consistently lost wickets but Shivnarine Chanderpaul's resilience kept them afloat. Chanderpaul perished in a rather soft manner when he hit an innocuous delivery from Paul Collingwood straight to short cover.

The West Indian dream of winning a global event after a hiatus of 25 years hinged on two batsmen who averaged 12.47 and 8.0 in the form of Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw.

Bradshaw and Browne's gritty partnership reduced the required runs to 37 from 71 when Andrew Flintoff had a huge shout for LBW against Browne only to be denied by umpire Rudi Koertzen.

The turn of events opened the floodgates for the West Indies and the batsmen in an awe-inspiring partnership of 71 runs nailed the hosts into submission and romped home with two wickets.

#2 Pakistan, ICC Champions Trophy, 2017

Pakistan, ICC Champions Trophy, 2017

Not even an ardent Pakistani fan would've given their team any chance when they landed in London for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

Things went from bad to worse when the Men in Green were humbled in the opening encounter by their arch-rivals, India.

Win against South Africa and Sri Lanka was followed by a shellacking of hosts England in the semi-finals to set up the finale with their arch-rivals, India.

Pakistan hadn't won an ICC game against India since Champions Trophy 2009 and with the hammering, they'd received at the hands of the Men in Blue in the initial stage of the tournament, no one had really given them a chance.

Pakistan batted first and was given a reprieve initially when Jasprit Bumrah induced an outside edge from Fakhar Zaman on a no-ball. It proved to be a pivotal moment in the game as Zaman en-route to a swashbuckling hundred helped Pakistan post 5-338 in 50 overs.

Zaman's tenacity was matched by Amir's fiery spell in which he nipped out Rohit, Kohli and Dhawan to leave India reeling at 3-38. Yuvraj and Dhoni followed suit and suddenly India was staring at a massive defeat.

Pandya's baptism with fire saw him rocket his way to a 43-ball-76 giving India a glimmer of hope. But a moment of madness from him and Jadeja between the wickets accounted for Pandya's downfall and eventually summed up India's day.

An absolutely humbling it was, and the 'cornered tigers' suddenly were the Champion of Champions.

#1 India, ICC World Twenty20, 2007

India, ICC World Twenty20, 2007

The start of the Dhoni-era. India had been knocked out of the 50-over World Cup earlier in the year. The seniors had decided to step- away from the World T20 and a new skipper was crowned- MS Dhoni.

India had played just one T20I prior to the inaugural World Twenty20 and under a new leader entered the tournament as underdogs. The first game against Scotland got washed away. The next encounter against Pakistan turned out be an absolute humdinger with the Men in Blue coming up trumps in a bowl-out (3-0).

India found themselves in a tough group in the Super-8 stage with the likes of New Zealand, South Africa and England. A 10-run loss in a high-scoring game against the Kiwis meant they needed to win their remaining two fixtures to entertain any chance of making it to the semi-finals.

India defeated England in the next game, a match best remembered for Yuvraj Singh's 6 sixes off Stuart Broad, and then proceeded to knock hosts South Africa out to set-up a semi-final clash against the mighty Aussies.

Yuvraj was at it again in the semi-finals as his 30-ball-70 took the Men in Blue to a towering 5-187 in 20 overs. At 2-120, with Hayden and Symonds going strong, Australia looked well on course for another ICC event final berth. But Sreesanth (2-12) nipped out Hayden and Symonds followed suit as Dhoni and co. choked the Aussie middle-order to set-up a 15-run run over the 50-over World champions.

And then, came the big day. India vs Pakistan in a World Cup final, and it all came down to 12 off the last over after the Men in Blue had posted 5-158 in 20 overs thanks to Gambir's 77.

Like in the semi-finals, Dhoni tossed the ball to Joginder Sharma. Sharma started with a wide and a six over his head to reduce the equation to 6 off 4 balls. Next ball, Misbah tried to scoop but misjudged the pace and was caught by Sreesanth at short fine-leg to hand India the inaugural ICC World T20.