Why did India have an off day in the final after a 10-game winning streak? And what explains this repeated tendency to freeze in the knockouts?
There’s absolutely no doubt India were the standout side of the World Cup. But the capitulation in the final on Sunday — one of many at the knockout stages of ICC events — brings forth the uncomfortable question: ‘Are India the new chokers of world cricket?’ The tag was reserved for South Africa through the 1990s and the 2000s. They were a brilliant cricket team — starting from the Hansie Cronje-Bob Woolmer era all the way to AB de Villiers’ flamboyant side — but didn’t manage the silverware that really mattered.
