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Biggest chokers of the century: India will face the biggest chokers of the decade against South Africa today in the T20 World Cup. The African team, which has been playing white ball cricket since 1992, has not been able to win even a single World Cup, whereas Team India has been waiting for the World Cup since 2011.
South Africa did not win the World Cup, it does not mean that the team has not won any ICC trophy. He won the Champions Trophy title in 1998. This is the first and last ICC trophy in his cricket history.
Coincidentally, India also won its last ICC title in the form of Champions Trophy. However, 11 years have passed since then. That means a decade has passed since India won the ICC trophy.
Whatever may be the result of today’s final, one thing is clear that at least one team will remove the tag of chokers from its head. Yes, if the match is canceled then both the teams can wash their stains. Because if the match is inconclusive, the trophy will be shared between both the teams. That means the drought of both is over.
Know the condition of both the teams in the ICC tournament, starting with South Africa…
Lost 5 semi-finals in ODI World Cup
South Africa played the ODI World Cup for the first time in 1992 after the ICC ban was lifted. The team performed brilliantly and made it to the semi-finals, but lost to England. From 1996 to 2015, the team reached the knockout round 5 out of 6 times, but sometimes lost the quarter-finals and sometimes the semi-finals. In 2003 and 2019 the team could not reach the knockout round.
In 2023, South Africa made a comeback and played the semi-finals, but lost to Australia. The team had lost this ODI World Cup third semi-final against Australia. Apart from this, the team has lost knockout twice to New Zealand and once each to West Indies and England. The only knockout match the team won was in 2015, when South Africa defeated Sri Lanka in the quarter-finals.
Only success achieved in Champions Trophy
In 1998 the ICC launched its second 50-over tournament for the first time in the form of the Champions Trophy. It was sometimes named Wills International and sometimes Knockout Trophy, but now it is known as Champions Trophy. South Africa performed brilliantly in this and also lifted the trophy by winning 3 consecutive knockout matches. Jacques Kallis became Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament.
This was the first and last ICC title for the South African senior cricket team. After this, the team participated in the Champions Trophy 7 times, but leave alone the title, it did not even reach the finals. The team lost 2 consecutive semi-finals to India in 2000 and 2002. In 2006, West Indies and in 2013 England knocked them out after defeating them in the semi-finals.
South Africa could not even cross the group stage in 2004, 2009 and 2017. After the first title, the team played 5 knockout matches in the Champions Trophy, losing 4 semi-finals. The only quarter-final against England was also won in the year 2000. That means the team has been choking in the World Cup for 32 years and in the Champions Trophy for 26 years.
Will play the first final in T-20 World Cup
When the World Cup of the shortest format of cricket started in 2007, ICC gave its hosting rights to South Africa. The team defeated West Indies in the very first match. Even in the Super-8, the team won 2 consecutive matches, but had to be eliminated from the group stage after losing the last match to India.
In 2009, South Africa again reached the semi-finals, but this time lost to Pakistan. Group stage exits in 2010 and 2012. Reached the semi-finals in 2014, but had to be eliminated after losing to India.
From 2016 to 2022, the team again came out of the group stage and now in 2024 it made it to the finals for the first time. The team defeated Afghanistan in the semi-finals and won a knockout match in the T20 World Cup for the first time. South Africa has a chance to win its first World Cup today.
Did not play even a single final of WTC
After Champions Trophy, ODI World Cup and T-20 World Cup, ICC also started Test format tournament in 2019. It was named World Test Championship i.e. WTC, in which 6-6 series are played between the top-9 teams for 2 years. The final is held among the teams finishing in the top-2 positions at the end of the points table. South Africa has not been able to reach the finals of this tournament till date.
South Africa lost 10 semi-finals in 26 years
From 1999 to 2024, South Africa played 23 ICC tournaments. The team exited the group stage 11 times, but also reached the knockout stage 12 times. The team was tagged as chokers because they lost 11 out of 14 matches in the knockout stage. These include 10 semi-finals and one quarter-final.
South Africa also got 2 out of 3 wins in the knockout stage in the quarter-finals. The team won the semi-finals of an ICC tournament for the first time in 26 years, when they defeated Afghanistan and entered the finals.
Now let us know why Team India is the biggest choker of the decade…
No success in T-20 World Cup after 2007
India won its first T20 World Cup in 2007, the team won the trophy by defeating Pakistan by 5 runs in the final. After this the team played 7 more T-20 World Cups. The team reached the knockout stage i.e. semi-finals and finals 3 times, but missed the title.
In 2014, India defeated South Africa in the semi-finals, but lost the final to Sri Lanka. In 2016, India reached the knockouts on its own home ground, but lost the semi-finals to West Indies. In 2022, the team reached the knockout for the last time, but this time England defeated them by 10 wickets.
Meanwhile, in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2021 the team could not even cross the group stage. Now, for the third time in the World Cup of this format, India has confirmed the final ticket. The team defeated England by 68 runs in the semi-finals.
Yearning for success in ODI World Cup after 2011
India last won the ODI World Cup title in 2011. 28 years ago, in 1983, the team got its first success in the World Cup of this format. Then the team won the trophy by defeating West Indies in the final and in 2011, Sri Lanka in the final. Since then, India played 3 more ODI World Cups, each time the team reached the knockout stage, but could not win the title in even one.
In 2015, India defeated Bangladesh in the quarter-finals, but lost to home team Australia in the semi-finals. In 2019, New Zealand defeated India in the semi-finals. In 2023, India again settled the scores and defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals, but the team could not win against Australia in the finals.
The last Champions Trophy title was won in 2013.
India won its first title in the Champions Trophy in 2002, however, due to the final being inconclusive, the trophy had to be shared with Sri Lanka. After this, in 2013, the team defeated England in the final on its home ground and captured the trophy. This was India’s last ICC trophy in the last 11 years.
After 2013, the Champions Trophy tournament took place only once in 2017. India defeated Bangladesh in the semi-finals and entered the final for the second consecutive time, but suffered a huge 180-run defeat against Pakistan. After this the Champions Trophy did not take place, now in 2025 the tournament will be held in Pakistan.
Lost both finals of the World Test Championship
The final of WTC i.e. World Test Championship has taken place only twice till now in 2021 and 2023. India made it to the finals both times, but lost in both. In 2021, New Zealand was defeated by 8 wickets and in 2023, Australia was defeated by 209 runs.
India has lost 5 finals in 10 years
Team India is definitely the biggest choker of the decade, but India does not have a team that has lost in the semi-finals like South Africa. This team loses after reaching the finals. In the last 11 years, Team India has lost 5 finals of 11 ICC tournaments. Not only this, India has also lost 4 semi-finals.
Since 2014, India has played 14 knockout matches in ICC tournaments. The team won 5 and lost 9. 4 out of 5 wins came in the semi-finals, while one win came in the quarter-finals. India was defeated by Australia in 2 out of 5 finals. Whereas Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand lost 1-1 finals.
India will play fourth ICC final in 12 months
India has made it to the finals of all the ICC tournaments it has played in the last 12 months. These also include the Under-19 Men’s World Cup, which was played in January this year. Before this, India’s senior team also played the finals of One Day World Cup and World Test Championship.
Team India had to face defeat from Australia in all three finals. Now the team will face South Africa in the ICC final of T-20 format after defeating big teams like Australia and England. Now only the result of this match will decide how much the pain of 11 years of defeat outweighs the pain of 26 years.
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Graphics: Ankit Pathak, Kunal Sharma
