Finally, the glory has come home, as India defeated the Proteas in a spine-chilling World Cup T20 final at Barbados. The hearts of millions of fans of the Men in Blue wrenched when Pandya bowled his last ball to Nortje.
Rohit Sharma and co. all seemed to be in tears when the glory finally came. So was Dravid, as the cricket god finally blessed the legend as he lifted the first ICC trophy of his career, not as a player but as a coach.
With all the smiles, cries, and expectations coming true, let’s take a look at India’s glorious run in the World Cups. Dating back to 1975, the first-ever Cricket World Cup played in England, India was the underdogs until 1983, when, for the first time against all odds, legendary Kapil Dev led the Indian time to a never-thought-of World Cup title at Lord’s in the 3rd edition of the game.
Despite England and Australia’s participation, the men with the tri-color flag declared that they were the future of the sport, as they were the second team to lift the World Cup even before the mighty Aussies. India, on their quest, defeated the West Indies, the two-time World champions, and proved that nothing is undoable for them.
After their exit from the 1987 World Cup in the semis, India faced a major backlash in the 92 Cup before they bounced back in the 1996 World Cup under Mohammed Azharuddin’s leadership.
Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy from Azharuddin in 2003, where he led them to the finals only to lose against Australia in the final. Sachin Tendulkar played amazingly against all in the edition of the World Cup.
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India, under the young and dynamic Dhoni, was crowned World T20 champions in the very first edition of the Cup. Dhoni led a lesser-known team comprising of youngsters to a World Cup win for the first time in 24 years.
India emerged as the as the World title winner again in 2011, the home World Cup, as the hosts faced hurdles in their way and kept overcoming all to secure a famous victory at the Wankhede stadium. MS Dhoni’s finish with a six has been engraved in the hearts of Indian fans. This ended India’s drought in the World Cups after a long period of 28 years.
Leaving aside the wins, India never seemed to look back in the Dhoni era, as they repeatedly played semis in the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and also made it to repetitive semis in T20 World Cups in 2016, 2018, and 2022. They lost the 2014 T20 World Cup final to Sri Lanka and the 2023 World Cup to Australia at home.
Avenged all by the Indian men, Men in Blue lifted the World Cup in T20 World Cup 2024, paying a great tribute to the legends Dravid, Rohit, and Virat in their final T20 World Cup appearance. A wait of 13 years, and all accomplished by the legends as they part from the shortest format of the game. A brief sneak of India’s legacy in World Cups.