NEW DELHI: Six months after the ODI World Cup, Indian cricket fans eagerly await the ICC
T20 World Cup 2024
, hoping that
Rohit Sharma
and Co can end the country's 11-year
ICC
trophy drought.
Here's a look at India's journey across the tournament's 17-year history, from the inaugural edition in 2007 in South Africa to the upcoming ninth edition set to take place in the United States of America and the Caribbean.
India made history by becoming the first-ever winner of the
T20 World Cup
in 2007. The tournament was full of memorable moments like the iconic India-Pakistan bowl-off and Gautam Gambhir's heroics in the final.
Gambhir's 75 in the final helped a struggling side put up a defendable total. Alongside Gambhir, Rohit Sharma was also responsible for a quickfire 30 in the final which propelled India's score to 157 against Pakistan.
Wickets at regular intervals saw the Pakistan side struggle until Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir's crucial cameos with Misbah-ul-haq saw the game tilt in the Men in Green's favour. India needed to defend 12 runs in the final five deliveries with only one wicket remaining.
The second ball of the over bowled by Joginder Sharma was slammed by Misbah for six over long-on and it seemed the game was over. An attempt to scoop the ball over fine leg on the next delivery saw Sreesanth take a comfortable catch and secure victory for India.
However, in eight next editions of the tournament played so far,
Team India
have failed to make the knockouts in four. The team struggled in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2021, with the last being perhaps their worst display, losing to Pakistan and New Zealand in the group stages and being knocked out in the preliminary round.
India also faced heartbreak in the knockout stages in 2014, 2016, and 2022. Despite
Virat Kohli
's outstanding performances, the team fell short in the finals and semifinals.
Speaking of Virat Kohli, he has been a dominant force in the T20 World Cup since his debut in 2012. He has scored 1141 runs in 25 innings across five editions at an impressive average of 81.5 and a strike rate of 131.3.
Kohli has scored 14 half-centuries, the most in the tournament's history, and is the only player to win the Player of the Tournament award twice.
In the bowling department, spinners have led the way for India. Ravichandran Ashwin is India's most successful bowler in the tournament's history with 32 wickets, followed by Ravindra Jadeja with 21.
Irfan Pathan is India's highest wicket-taking pacer with 16 wickets.
Rohit Sharma, one of only two players to have played in every edition of the tournament, has scored 963 runs in 39 matches at an average of 34.39 and a strike rate of 127.88 across eight editions.
(With inputs from IANS)
English (US) ·