The
WTC Final loss vs Australia is the latest chapter in what is turning out to be a long run of heartbreaks for Team India in ICC event knockout matches.
The last time India won an ICC tournament was in 2013, when they won the Champions Trophy title under MS Dhoni's captaincy. Incredibly, since then India have played 8 knockout matches (semi-finals and finals) in ICC events and lost all 8.
The trend clearly suggests that while India have played good cricket and have pipped other mega teams to reach pre-summit and summit clashes, they are not managing to seal the deal and are falling either at the semis or in the final.
Since the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, India have featured in 4 semi-finals and 4 finals of ICC events and lost all.
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Australia claim maiden World Test Championship title
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<p>India's poor show in ICC events continued as Australia grabbed their maiden World Test Championship title with a crushing 209-run victory. <br /></p>
<p>Chasing a record 444 on the final day, India resumed at 164/3 on Day 5 but were bowled out for 234 in the first session. <br /></p>
<p>This is now India's second defeat in successive WTC finals after losing to New Zealand in 2021 in the inaugural edition.<br /></p>
<p>Pacer Scott Boland sparked a dramatic collapse as India lost the remaining seven wickets for 70 runs inside 24 overs before lunch.<br /></p>
<p>Scott Boland did the initial damage with 2 wickets in an over, including the prize scalp of Virat Kohli (49). <br /></p>
<p>In the seventh over of the day, Kohli edged fast bowler Boland to a great catch at second slip by Steve Smith. Boland then got Ravindra Jadeja (0) a couple of balls later.<br /></p>
<p>The highest wicket-taker for Australia in the second innings, Nathan Lyon (4/41) then mopped up the tail in a jiffy. <br /></p>
<p>Australia were in charge of the Final from Day 1 with both player-of-the-match Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121) firing tons in the total of 469.</p>
<p>India were then bowled out for 296 in their first essay, giving away huge 173-run lead to Pat Cummins and co. <br /></p>
<p>Australia then declared their second innings at 270 for 8 on Day 4, setting a mammoth 444 target for India. <br /></p>
<p>With the win, Australia are now the first team to win all the ICC men's titles while India's 10-year wait for an ICC trophy continues.<br /></p>
The trend began in the 2014 T20 World Cup final, where they lost to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. Three of the 8 matches India have lost in ICC event knockout games have been in the T20 World Cup, two in the ODI World Cup, two in the WTC Final and one in the Champions Trophy.
Here's a look at all the 8 matches that India have lost in ICC event knockout games, since the 2013 Champions Trophy: