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The ICC is just moments away from the opening fixture; all eyes are on India. The previous edition’s runners-up India is one of the favorite contenders to win the trophy this time. India lifted the ICC Champions Trophy twice: in 2013 under Dhoni’s captaincy and in 2002 as a co-winner with Sri Lanka under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. Apart from the good moments and success, Men in Blue also disappoints their fans sometimes. Team India made some mistakes in the previous edition that cost them the loss against their archrival Pakistan in the final match of the tournament.

India’s this year’s campaign will start on 20th February against Bangladesh in Dubai and they will face Pakistan and New Zealand in the upcoming group stage. Let’s look at all of India’s blunders in previous Champions Trophy tournaments.

Bad strategy in the final vs Pakistan in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy

The previous edition of the Champions Trophy was the most widely discussed among fans. They also came into the event as defending champions, having won in 2013. India, led by Virat Kohli, dominated every team they faced. Despite a setback to Sri Lanka, Indian batters and bowlers worked effectively as a team.

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are the top two batters in this tournament. In the final, India played Pakistan, a squad famous for its unpredictable performance. India elected to bowl first in this high-pressure encounter, most likely motivated by previous success. But this was likely a wrong decision in terms of a high-pressure game.

With the help of Fakhar Zaman’s 114 runs, Pakistan reached the target of 338 runs. But Team India and Indian fans still believe that Men in Blue can successfully chase the target and win the match. The Indian top order failed under pressure and the untested middle order also suffered in the high-stakes encounter. Except for Hardik Pandya’s 76 runs, all failed to perform, but a misunderstanding and a run-in with Ravindra Jadeja brought Pandya back to the pavilion. As a result, India lost by an 180-run margin.

Yuvraj Singh’s injury and middle-order struggle in the 2009 Champions Trophy

The 2009 Champions Trophy did not excite Indian supporters. This time, the competition was hosted in South Africa, a country with whom India had pleasant memories after winning the 2007 T20 World Cup. Indian fans are expected to have the same kind of result in the Champions Trophy also but things did not go as planned, and India could not make it to the semi-finals.

Yuvraj Singh’s finger injury was a setback for the Indian middle order. Due to middle-order contribution, India lost multiple matches and failed to reach the semi-final. Not only the middle-order Indian team lacked in batting and bowling order. Even in the rain-soaked game against Australia, the bowlers struggled, with Australia getting more than 200 runs in 40 overs before the match had to be called off.

Overall, India’s dependence on top-order players, as well as tactical errors, contributed to two consecutive dismal Champions Trophy campaigns. In all, they played three matches in the 2009 Champions Trophy, winning one against the West Indies and losing one against Pakistan. Rain caused their match against Australia to be a draw. In the end, India set third in Group A and failed to advance to the semifinals.

Batting failure in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy

India hosted the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy and the Indian team was led by Rahul Dravid. Dravid and company failed to deliver the performance as the fans expected by the team in home conditions.

India was only able to win the match against England and lost the other two matches against the West Indies and Australia and failed to reach the semis.

Tactical mistakes were also critical, notably the choice to concentrate mainly on pace bowlers while underutilizing spin alternatives while playing on spin-friendly Indian surfaces. India chose bowlers such as Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, and RP Singh, who appeared in the majority of the games.

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