World Cup; The Indian team will compete against New Zealand in the first semi-final today

World Cup; The Indian team will compete against New Zealand in the first semi-final today
Asghar Ali Mubarak

India and New Zealand will compete in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2023 today.

The Indian team’s eyes are focused on reaching the final by breaking the tradition of failure in the knockout competitions for the last decade. The Indian team has shown the best performance in the ICC competitions during the last 10 years,

but in the semi-finals or the knockout stage, its nerves show an answer and the team that consistently shows the best performance loses a match and is out of the tournament. . The Indian team is so far unbeaten in the tournament being played on its soil and has won 9 consecutive matches to top the points table and has outclassed all the teams by playing the best game.

Now it has to be seen whether the Indian team manages to get rid of the ghost of defeat in the knockout stages in their next two matches or they will have to face failure once again.

India last won the ICC event in 2013 when Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India defeated England in the final to become Champions Trophy champions. After that, the Indian team continued to perform consistently in the ICC competitions and reached the knockout stages but failed to win the title on any occasion.

In the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup, Australia crushed the dream of the then defending champion team, while in the 2016 T20 World Cup, the West Indies ended their trip to India by defeating them in the semi-finals.

In the 2017 Champions Trophy, the Indian team was unbeaten in the entire event, but in the final, arch rival Pakistan crushed their pride by defeating them by 180 runs and deprived them of the Champions Trophy title.

In the 2019 World Cup also, India was defeated only by England in the round matches and they were able to reach the semi-finals, but the team considered as the favorite for the World Cup was defeated by New Zealand after an interesting match. was eliminated from the title race.

After that, the 2021 T20 World Cup proved to be a nightmare for India where they were eliminated in the first round, while the Indian team could not reach the semi-finals in the 2022 T20 World Cup played in Australia.

Not only in limited overs cricket but also in Test cricket, despite the best game, the title did not come within the reach of the Indian team. When the ICC introduced the World Test Championship, India made it to the final of the championship played from 2019 to 2021, but once again in the final, New Zealand’s excellent bowling came in the way of the ambitions of the Indian batsmen and New Zealand won the match. I had won the honor of becoming the champion.

The Indian team was also able to reach the final of the World Test Championship from 2021 to 2023, but Australia crushed their hopes by 209 runs, and despite India reaching the final for the second time in a row, it is not the Test Championship. Could have won.