The South African cricket team for years have flopped at big tournaments to cement the tag of chokers in the game. The reason behind it is that despite having a wonderful team with brilliant individual talent, their form comes to a grinding halt when it comes to knockout games. This has led to the side returning empty-handed from ICC events even though they win throughout the year both home and away. But if the same principle is applied to a certain Indian cricket team over the past five years, they rank higher than the Proteas in the race for the ultimate chokers tag. The latest failure in England only raises more questions about the men in blue. A timeline of ICC events where India failed to win crucial games despite dominating the campaign.

2014 ICC World Twenty20, Bangladesh - Lost in Finals

India won all their group stage games in the 2014 T20 World Cup which included performances like bowling Australia out for 86 defending 159, a win over arch-rivals Pakistan and defeating the mighty West Indies. A routine win against South Africa in the semis was followed with a final against Sri Lanka – a side lacking quality in comparison to India. Despite losing only 4 wickets in the game, the team only scored 130 on board. Yuvraj Singh was poor for the Men in Blue scoring a 21 ball 11 which helped Sri Lanka win the game and the tournament by 6 wickets.

2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, Australia - Lost in Semi-Finals

Though India was not the favourites in the competition held in Australia and New Zealand, it was gaining momentum as the tournament progressed. They won six out of six games in the group stage and went on to defeat Bangladesh in the quarters, Next up for them was the mighty Australia in the semi-final which was a proper 50-50 contest. But Indian bowlers failed to gain control of the game as Australia piled on 328/7 in a high-pressure game. India had a decent opening stand of 76 but things went downhill post their dismissal. With Virat Kohli flopping, Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 65 to delay the inevitable. Australia won the game convincingly by 95 runs.

2016 ICC World Twenty20, India - Lost in Semi-Finals

India playing at home with a wonderful squad that knows the conditions well certainly looked like a recipe for success. The team started off with a defeat against New Zealand but recovered well against Pakistan and Australia to make it to the semis where an unpredictable West Indies awaited them in Mumbai. India batting first scored a massive 192/2 which is good enough to win any T20 game. But India’s bowling fumbled with Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja flopping at the grand stage. Lendl Simmons’ unbeaten 82 ensured the West Indies progress to the finals.

2017 ICC Champions Trophy, England - Lost in Finals

Placed in Group B alongside Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa – India did well to finish top of the points table. They defeated Pakistan on their way to set up a semi-final game with Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma’s wonderful century ensured Bangladesh never managed to get a sniff of an opportunity against the 2013 champions. In the finals, Pakistan were clearly the underdogs and yet again India fumbled. Little known Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman slammed a century to put his side firmly on the driver's seat. Cashing 339 for the win, the Indian top order vanished in the first powerplay as they lost by a massive 180 runs.

2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, England - Lost in Semi-Finals

A team that finished top of the group stage after a gruelling campaign that saw them play the best sides in the World, just blew away their chance against New Zealand in the semi-final. Being overly dependent on the top 3, India were always going to struggle in event of their failure. The Kiwis took their chances and fielded brilliantly to exert a kind of pressure that the Indian team had not faced for years.

It is a worrying trend for India with losses in the finals and semis of the last five ICC events. The team will have to learn from these defeats when it prepares for future endeavours.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 11, 2019 01:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).