India is considered as the strongest team in World cricket and with two titles  India is a World champion also. First time in 1983 when the Indian team performed shockingly and ended up winning the tournament and then in 2011 when captain MS Dhoni decided to end the wait of 28 years to again become World champion. Out of 12 World Cups India has managed to win 2 of them but most of the time India went performing so badly. 

Except these seasons there were some more years when India performed so good in World Cup and gave fans so much hope but at a crucial moment team collapsed which surprisingly made India exit the tournament. if we talk about choking South Africa comes to our mind because they choked in very critical moments In the history of World Cup they made them to be called as chokers, but there are many games where India has also behave like chokers and choked in big games. In this article I’m going to talk about 4 such moments when India choked and lost important games. 

Semifinal – 1987- vs England

India was playing at their home as defending champions that made the Indian side more strong and favorites. India has started their journey where they left in ‘83’. India won 5 out of 6 group matches and finished at the top of their table. In semifinals where hopes were high Indian team felt pressured and while chasing 255 India collapsed on just before 35 runs to reach the given target. This loss breaks the hearts of the Indian fans but they were not aware of what they’re going to witness in the coming years. 

Semifinal – 1996 – vs Sri Lanka 

Again being the host of the tournament India has the strong hand and under the new captain India performed decent at group stages and with 3 wins in 5 games boys in blue qualified for the Quarterfinals. In a big game of quarterfinals against Pakistan, India won comfortably that gave hopes again to the fans. In the semifinal against Sri Lanka which is considered as the most controversial game in the history of cricket. While chasing India was looking strong until Sachin Tendulkar was holding from one side and as soon Kaluwitharna stumped him on Jayasuriya’s ball Indian team lost six wickets in just 22 runs. Fans started throwing bottles in the ground and some of them fired the seats. Because of these incidents the match was called off and Sri Lanka was decided as winners of the game and later on they ended up winning the World Cup.

Final – 2003 – vs Australia

It was the era when the India team changed their way of playing cricket and started playing aggressive. This new captain has proved himself just before the World Cup by reaching the finals of the champions trophy and winning the famous Natwest trophy in England. This World is co- hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. India reached the semis by winning five out of six games in group stage and four out of 5 games in super six. In the semi final India beat Kenya by 91 runs and entered into the finals second time in the history of World Cups. In the finals India is facing Australia, India has lost only two games in this World Cup and both were against Australians one was in group stage and the second one was the Final itself.   

Semifinal – 2015 – vs Australia 

After winning the 2011 World Cup India was playing as defending champions in the 2015 World Cup. India didn’t lose any match since the loss against South Africa in 2011 World Cup till losing the semifinal from Australia in 2015, this has become the second biggest winning streak in World Cup after Australia. India has won all six games of group stage and became the strongest contender to win the World Cup again. 

India reached the semifinals by beating Bangladesh in the Quarterfinals. Indian bowling which was constantly performing great throughout the World has totally failed in the semis against Australia. While chasing 329 India with strong batting order again failed at the big stage and lost the game by 95 runs. Australia later on ended up winning the tournament record fifth time.  

Semifinals  – 2019 – vs New Zealand

This World Cup is very heartbreaking for Indian fans because it was the last World Cup of the great Indian player MS Dhoni. India again performed really well at that World Cup and topped the point table at group stage. Except one loss against England India has won all the games that they have played. Again in a rain interrupted match of the semifinal which went for two days India choked and lost an easy match. While chasing 240 Indian top order failed and lower order didn’t handle pressure. India lost the game by 18 runs and proved that this team can’t handle the pressure. Later on England and New Zealand played the final, and England ended up winning the World Cup.   

Also read: ODI World Cup 2023: 3 Bowlers With The Most Wickets In The History Of India Vs Bangladesh