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Termed as one of the worst performances by the Indian team in a World Cup edition, the 2007 World Cup was an abbreviation of what transpired as India got knocked out in the group stages of the tournament. Played in the Caribbean city of West Indies for the first time, the World Cup had introduced a new format where a total of 16 teams.
Led by Captain Rahul Dravid, the Indian team was filled with match winners in their side with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble and others in their squad.
From batting lapses to sizing moments in crunch situations, India lost 2 of the games out of 3 which led to their early exit from the WC. This disappointing tournament raised many eyebrows.
Here is the summary of what exactly went wrong for India in the Cricket World Cup, 2007:
Shambolic performance against Bangladesh in a must-win encounter:
Barring Sourav Ganguly’s valiant 66, the rest of India's batsmen never got going during the innings due to some smart bowling tactics applied by Bangladesh. They eventually bowled India out for 191 runs at the end of 1st innings. In the 2nd innings, Bangladesh cruised to the target with 5 wickets remaining in Trinidad which caused a major upset in the World Cup as they beat India for the first in the One Day International game.
Inconsistent Team India against a strong Sri Lanka:
In the game against Sri Lanka, after putting 256 runs on the board, the Sri Lankan spinners applied the choke on India as they were unable to rotate strikes and keep losing wickets on a regular basis, and Sri Lanka won that game by 69 runs in Port of Spain.
Constant batting collapses:
In the two defeats, the one thing which was highlighted was the batting failures of Indian batsman where they were unable to build partnerships in the middle order which became a huge factor leading to their early exit from the tournament.
Poor team selections and strategies:
Demoting ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order didn’t prove beneficial for the team as this decision was a talking point for the critics after their disappointing outing in the ICC World Cup 2007.
Mismanagement of coaching staff:
India lacked clarity of thought, was unable to make strategies on the field, and the team was constantly making errors; and all these became reasons behind India getting knocked out in the first round of the World Cup which disappointed millions of fans.
“2007 hurt more. Our team in 2007 was the best team in the world at that time. On paper, you won't find a better team than that, even before or after. In 2003, we lost the final, in 2011, we won, but we didn't have such big names ever. We lost 2 matches, won 1 and that too against Bermuda,” Virender Sehwag told Gaurav Kapur on Breakfast with Champions.
Because of their shambolic performance in the World Cup 2007, people began violent protests across India burning posters of Indian cricketers across the streets. It was then termed as one of the darkest moments in the history of cricket.
