Page 9 - Seniorstoday December 2022 Issue

In the 2007 World cup, India were joint multi-nation ICC tournaments. Since then,
favourites along with Australia. But their
campaign Sdid not last beyond the first
round. The fell blow came against low-
ranked Bangladesh who everyone thought
would be beaten without ado by a strong
Indian team that boasted players of the
caliber of Ganguly, Sehwag, Tendulkar,
Dravid, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kumble and Zaheer
Khan.
At this point in time, the Indian team was
in the throes of a crisis with chief coach
Greg Chappell at loggerheads with several
in the side. The players were divided down
the middle, and the tension of the dressing
room spilled onto the field of play, most
starkly in the match against Bangladesh.
The heavy-duty top order tumbled
against the Bangladesh bowlers and India
managed only a modest 191. This was
too small a total to defend on a true pitch
against inspired batting by Bangladesh
who reached the target easily, with 5
wickets to spare.
India had failed to reach the knock-out
and had to return from the West Indies
in sullen silence. This was to be Greg
Chappell’s last assignment as coach. He
resigned after the defeat, ending one of
the most controversial chapters in Indian
cricket. Within a few weeks, after the tour
to England which followed, skipper Rahul
Dravid too resigned as captain.
After much dithering and debate, the
captaincy was divided between Anil
Kumble (Tests) and young Mahendra
Singh Dhoni for white ball cricket. Later
that year, Dhoni led India to a sensational
win in the inaugural T20 World Cup. Four
years later, he was captain when India
won the ODI World Cup too. In 2013 he
led his team to victory in the Champions
Trophy to complete a hat-trick of wins in
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #42 | DECEMBER 2022
India has been starved of a win in such
tournaments.
v Pakistan, Manchester, 2017 Champions
Trophy final, Pak 338-4, India 158, Pak
won by 180 runs
Courtesy: ICCcricket
Having thumped Pakistan by 124 runs
in the league stage, India were odds-on
favourites to win the final. But the script
played out differently when the two teams
met again.
Pakistan, batting first, took the attack
to the Indian bowlers, hammering 338-
4. While conditions were tailor-made
for batting, chasing 300-plus is always
daunting. India needed a good start to put
pressure on the Pakistan bowlers. Instead,
the top order was demolished by Mohamed
Aamir in a splendid exhibition of swing
bowling.
Aamir, who had returned to international
cricket after serving out a long ban for
spot-fixing, picked up the wickets of
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar
Dhawan in his opening spell, which more
or less sealed the fate of the match. India
were bowled out for 158 in just 30.2 overs,
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