3 mistakes India made in 2014 loss but cannot afford in 2024 T20 World Cup final
Team India produced a performance for the ages by dismantling defending champions England in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana on June 27. After scoring a formidable 171/7 in 20 overs on a tacky wicket, Rohit Sharma's men suffocated the English batters before eventually bowling them out for a paltry 103.
With the win, the Men in Blue avenged their defeat against England in the same stage of the previous T20 World Cup edition in 2022.
The emphatic victory sets up an India-South Africa grand finale, with both teams coming into the final unbeaten in the tournament. As for India, it will be their third T20 World Cup final after 2007 and 2014.
While they won the 2007 final in a thrilling battle against arch-rivals Pakistan, the result did not go their way in 2014 against Sri Lanka. That aside, Team India have had their struggles in the final of ICC events, losing twice to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) and ODI World Cup final last year.
Yet, the defeat to Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup final sits with the Indian fans over the other painful 'so-near-yet-so-far' defeats. The upcoming final against South Africa provides the Asian giants an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and right the wrongs from the Sri Lanka loss a decade back.
On that note, let us look back at the three glaring mistakes Team India made in the 2024 T20 World Cup final that they can ill-afford in the upcoming finale against the Proteas.
#1 Lack of intent with the bat from the word go
We can't help but use the word 'intent' in the shortest format these days, can we? Well, here goes again: the most apparent factor that doomed India in the 2014 T20 World Cup final against Sri Lanka was their surprisingly conservative approach with the bat.
Sure, the era was completely different where batters took their time to build an innings. But, it is impossible to look back and not say the Indian batters took that approach too far.
Despite losing only the lone wicket, India scored a mere 31 runs in the powerplay to fall behind the eight-ball. Contrary to what we are witnessing now, Rohit Sharma scored a painstaking 29 off 26 deliveries.
The lack of intent only worsened as the hero of India's 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, Yuvraj Singh scored an unfathomable 11 off 21 balls to completely stall the Indian innings. And the finishing kick from MS Dhoni also never came as he swung and missed to a 7-ball 4* as India scored a mere 30 runs off the final 29 deliveries of the innings.
The final total read a strange 130/4 in 20 overs and India's conservative approach on the big day cost them yet again.
While Rohit Sharma and his side are completely different now from the one in 2014, a final can bring out those old habits, something India must safeguard against to emerge victorious against the Proteas.
#2 Avoid complacency - Do not fall prey to the 'favorites' tag
As much as cliches like 'never underestimate your opponent' and 'give it your all' get thrown out there, it is only human nature for complacency to occasionally seep in.
While there is no way to validate the same other than an eye test, the 2014 final gave many a feeling that India took their foot off the pedal for various reasons. For starters, they had beaten Sri Lanka routinely in bilateral series and games that mattered in ICC events.
MS Dhoni's unit upstaged them to win the 2011 ODI World Cup final and the 2013 Champions Trophy semi-final. Add to it that Team India were unbeaten through the 2014 T20 World Cup until the final, including a magnificent run-chase against South Africa in the semifinal.
All of it meant the Men in Blue had a seemingly nonchalant and lackadaisical approach in the final and before they realized the same, it became too late.
The 2024 side have enjoyed similar success thus far, winning all seven games, including an even more one-sided semifinal.
Considering it will be South Africa's first-ever World Cup final, almost everyone is picking India to break their ICC trophy jinx and that could add to their cockiness and over-confidence.
Staying away from these, even if they may be music to the ears, will be paramount for the Men in Blue to avoid a 2014 repeat.
#3 Optimum utilization of every trick in the bag
Innovation comes with a certain amount of bravery and a willingness to take accountability if it goes south. Team India were not up for either in their 2014 T20 World Cup final defeat to Sri Lanka.
How often does a team finish four down, yet score only 130 runs after 20 overs? Normally if a side loses only four wickets, they would finish upwards of 180 or if they muster only 130, it would be because of a flurry of wickets falling early or regularly.
Yet, MS Dhoni's Men endured neither in their strange batting display. It was just a lack of willingness to be imaginative or brave on the big day, be it keeping wickets in hand or not utilizing a game-changer like Suresh Raina throughout the innings.
Raina did not come out to bat in the full 20 overs as India used four right-handers in their top five despite left-arm spinner Rangana Herath sliding in four successful overs, conceding under a run-a-ball.
Furthermore, India's strike pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma combined for 1/36 in the five overs of the Sri Lankan reply. And they never bowled since even as the Lankans batted 18 overs to complete the run-chase.
It was five overs of pace straight in the powerplay and the spinners bowling overs 6 to 18. Such a stringent template when defending a below-par total showed a side that was fixated on their tried-and-tested approach and had no Plan B even as things went awry.
Not that the spinners bowled badly but when a partnership was developing in a relatively simple run-chase, India had to break the rhythm by mixing and matching between the tweakers and pacers.
In the upcoming finale, Rohit Sharma must be willing to innovate and be flexible if the game ever seems to be slipping away or to break a set pattern and surprise the South Africans with something they did not see coming.