Of late, India has struggled to win a match in the knockout round of ICC tournaments. The pressure situations have impacted the Indian cricket team’s performances a lot as they have lost a match against almost every top team in the world.
The Indian team lost against Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup 2014 Final, Australia in World Cup 2015 semifinal and World Test Championship 2023 Final, New Zealand in 2019 World Cup semifinal and World Test Championship 2021 Final, Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2017 Final and England in T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal.
However, there are three such teams against whom the Indian team have never lost a knockout match. Here’s a list of those three teams.
1. India have a 3-0 record in ICC knockout matches against South Africa
South Africa have earned the tag of ‘chokers’ because of their tendency to lose the matches which matter the most in big tournaments. The Proteas have started as favorites in multiple tournaments but always found a way to lose the match.
So far, the Indian team has battled against the South African team thrice in the knockout games. All three matches have ended in India’s favor. The most memorable one is the T20 World Cup 2014 semifinal in Bangladesh.
2. Bangladesh
India have a 2-0 record against Bangladesh in the knockout games of ICC tournaments. The two Asian teams met in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, where India won. Two years later, India and Bangladesh met in the semifinals of 2017 Champions Trophy, where India won again.
3. Kenya
Kenya surprisingly made it to the semifinals of the 2003 World Cup. The African team upset some heavyweight teams to make it to the final four. However, they could not make it past the semifinals as India defeated them in the knockout game.
