Team India’s dominance continued with a resounding 70-run victory over New Zealand in the 2023 World Cup semi-final in Mumbai.
The Men in Blue produced a massive 397/4 in 50 overs, led by an outstanding batting display. Despite a menacing combination between Kane Williamson and Daryll Mitchell, the bowlers held on to knock the Kiwis out for 327 in the 49th over.
Although the team won their tenth game in a row, there were a few fielding errors and squandered opportunities. It brought back unpleasant memories of Indian players dropping important World Cup knockout games.
While some of them did not cost India the game, a couple did, much to the chagrin of Indian supporters.
Steve Waugh’s Herschelle Gibbs drop in 1999 and Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s off Glenn Maxwell are recognized for their influence on the outcome of the game and the World Cup.
As we prepare for the final and hope for a stronger fielding performance from the Indians, consider the five occasions an Indian player lost a catch in a World Cup elimination.
1. Mohammed Shami
The most recent lost catch in a World Cup knockout game occurred on Wednesday in the 2023 World Cup semi-final match against New Zealand.
India were under pressure as they defended 398, owing to an electric third-wicket stand between Mitchell and Williamson. The pair arrived at 39/2 and contributed a century partnership to help the Kiwis reach 180/2 in 28 overs.
As the Wankhede crowd became agitated, Rohit Sharma reintroduced pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah into the assault. The pacer promptly generated a chance off Williamson, only for Shami to make the most basic of catches. Before Shami fumbled it, the New Zealand captain swivel-pulled a back-of-length delivery straight to mid-off.
With the partnership approaching 150 and Williamson batting on 53, India’s prospects were dwindling. A resurgent Shami, on the other hand, made up for the lapse by scooping up Williamson and six more wickets to end with an astonishing 7/57.
2. Suryakumar Yadav
Last year’s T20 World Cup semi-final in Australia was one of India’s more forgettable knockout performances.
Team India achieved a competitive 168/6 in 20 overs against England for a spot in the final. In response, England’s openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler ripped at the Indian assault right away.
When things went from bad to worse, the partnership powered England to 140/0 in just 13 overs. Following a boundary and a maximum from Mohammed Shami, Buttler presented a straightforward chance for another six.
Suryakumar Yadav, however, rushed from mid-off only to slip the catch and deflect it away to the boundary, summarizing India’s evening. They finally lost by 10 wickets in 16 overs and were eliminated from the competition.
3. Rohit Sharma
In contrast to the 2023 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Team India was unlucky when they dropped a catch against the same opponent in the 2019 edition. The Men in Blue were one down in the fourth over of the semi-final in Manchester.
However, vital hits from skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor helped to steady the ship for the journey to New Zealand. Following the removal of the former, India had a chance to tighten the screws, but Rohit Sharma shelled a catch off Jimmy Neesham.
With the batsman on three, Rohit lost a one-handed catch at mid-wicket off Hardik Pandya’s top-edged pull. Although the southpaw only scored nine runs, his 28-run partnership with Taylor was critical in preventing two wickets in a row.
The Blackcaps concluded with 239 runs, which proved to be 18 runs too much for the Indians, who were eliminated from the World Cup.
4. Ajinkya Rahane
The Indian hitters were picked as the overwhelming favorites to win the 2014 T20 World Cup final versus Sri Lanka. On a slick Mirpur surface, they managed only 130/4 in 20 overs.
The Men in Blue, on the other hand, bowled well, reducing the Lankans to 78/4 in the 13th over. Despite a flourishing fifth-wicket partnership between Kumar Sangakkara and Thisara Perera, the game remained in doubt at 104/4 in 16 overs.
But, in the following over, Perera got a tremendous leading edge off an Amit Mishra ball, and the game was over. However, Ajinkya Rahane missed a long-on boundary opportunity to destroy India’s faint hopes.
Sri Lanka won the title game by six wickets with 13 deliveries to spare, with Perera unbeaten on 23 off 14.
5. Virat Kohli
With his ability to pull off blinders and lose legal catches, Virat Kohli has been an enigma as a fielder.
Virat Kohli grabbed a straightforward opportunity to remove David Warner in the 2015 ODI World Cup semi-final against Australia. The carnage that followed, however, was spectacular, with Steve Smith and Aaron Finch tearing the Indian bowlers apart in their 182-run second-wicket stand.
A dissatisfied Indian team continued to hemorrhage runs as the Aussies raced beyond 300 in front of a raucous home crowd at the SCG. The frosting on the cake came when their arch-rival Kohli lost a simple chance to Brad Haddin in the penultimate over of the innings at deep mid-wicket.
Although the drop had little bearing on the final score, it summed up India’s bowling and fielding effort as Australia concluded with 328/7 after 50 overs. In response, the Men in Blue were bowled out for 233, thereby eliminating their chances of defending their 2011 crown.
