New Delhi. The countdown to ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has begun. After the final of IPL 2024 on May 26, another major T20 tournament is all set to give cricket fans ‘total entertainment’. The 9th edition of the T20 World Cup will begin with a match between USA and Canada. Team India will play their opening match against Ireland on June 5 but the excitement will peak with the ‘high voltage’ match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on June 9.
In the eight T20 World Cups held so far, West Indies and England have won the trophy twice each, while India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia have claimed the title once each. Talking about Team India, the Rohit Sharma brigade has a golden opportunity to bring smiles to the faces of Indian fans who are saddened by the loss of World Cup (ODI) 2023 by becoming the T20 World Cup champions. Team India is also being counted among the strong contenders for the title.
Let us tell you that when the Indian team won the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2007, Rohit was involved as a player. The ‘Hitman’ now has a chance to win the T20 World Cup as captain. In addition to becoming champions in the year 2007, the Indian team reached the finals of the 2014 T20 World Cup but lost to Sri Lanka in the title match. India’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2014 has a lot in common with last year’s ODI World Cup (World Cup 2023). Like the ODI World Cup 2023, in the 2014 T20 World Cup, the Indian team made it to the final by crushing all the rival teams in a one-sided fashion, but a poor one-day performance led to their defeat. title
T20 World Cup: Highest score of 200+ by a team that has never been champion.
Team India’s campaign in T20 World Cup 2014
1. India Vs Pakistan: Team India won by 7 wickets
2. India Vs West Indies: Team India won by 7 wickets
3. India Vs Bangladesh: Team India won by 8 wickets
4. India Vs Australia: Team India won by 73 runs
Semi-Finals: India Vs South Africa: Team India won by 6 wickets
Final: India Vs Sri Lanka: Team India lost by 6 wickets, could not win the title
Team India’s campaign in World Cup (ODI) 2023
1. India Vs Australia: Team India won by 6 wickets
2. India Vs Afghanistan: Team India won by 8 wickets
3. India Vs Pakistan: Team India won by 7 wickets
4. India Vs Bangladesh: Team India won by 7 wickets
5. India Vs New Zealand: Team India won by 4 wickets
6. India Vs England: Team India won by 100 runs
7. India Vs Sri Lanka: Team India won by 302 runs
8. India Vs South Africa: Team India won by 243 runs
9. India Vs Netherlands: Team India won by 160 runs
Semi-Finals: India Vs New Zealand: Team India won by 70 runs
Final: India Vs Australia: Team India lost by 6 wickets, could not win the title
Sri Lanka’s first two T20 World Cup records still intact, will it be broken this time?
All the matches before the final were won easily
In the T20 World Cup 2014 and ODI World Cup 2023, the Indian team had won all their matches in one-sided fashion before the finals. In both the tournaments, the Indian team did not lose a match before the final but the fans’ hearts were broken in the final. A ‘bad day’ cost the team dearly and they missed out on the title with just one defeat in the entire tournament.
India’s margin of victory and defeat against Pakistan in the final is the same
The Indian team’s win against Pakistan in both the tournaments and their defeat in the final were similar. In the T20 World Cup 2014, India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets and in the 2023 World Cup too, Team India defeated the ‘neighboring country’ by the same margin. Similarly, in the T20 World Cup 2014 final, India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. In the final of the World Cup 2023 also, the Indian team lost against Australia by the same distance. In both the tournaments, the Indian team lost only the final match.
Virat scored the most runs in both the tournaments.
India’s Virat Kohli has become the highest run-scorer in both these tournaments. ‘King Kohli’ scored 319 runs at an average of 106.33 and a strike rate of 129.14 while remaining unbeaten thrice in 6 matches of the T20 World Cup 2014. Similarly, in the World Cup 2023, he went unbeaten thrice in 11 matches and top scored with 765 runs at an average of 95.62 and a strike rate of 90.31.
Interestingly, his 319 runs so far are the highest by any batsman in the T20 World Cup and 765 runs in the ODI World Cup. Rohit Sharma was among the top 5 batsmen in both the tournaments. Rohit scored 200 not out once in six matches in the T20 World Cup 2014 and was the fourth highest run-getter, while in World Cup 2023 he was second only to Virat with 597 runs in 11 matches.
Tags: Cricket, ICC T20 World Cup, ICC World T20, Rohit Sharma, T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli, World Cup 2023
First published: May 10, 2024, 07:32 IST