Champions Trophy final | Mad Hatter’s world of Indian cricket: When logic fails in ICC knockouts

If you’re a betting person, I suggest you read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland before the India vs New Zealand final. Or, better still, visit the Mad Hatter’s theory of nonsense.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense,” said the Mad Hatter, a comical character in Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. “Nothing,” he continued, “would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t.” Some time in 1983, it is strongly suspected, the Mad Hatter spilled out of fiction and created his own world. You can call it the mad world of Indian cricket at ICC events.

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Why? Because nothing in ICC events has ever made sense to Indian fans. In the end, everything has turned out to be what it should not have been. India has lost when it should have won, and won (except once) when it could/should have lost.

Where do we start with the Mad Hatter theory of nonsense? With Mad Max? With Maddi-pa? Or Kapil Dev’s madness?

OK, let’s begin, as the King (another character from Carroll’s world) said, “at the beginning and go on till we come to the end: then stop.”

The year was 1983, the cricketing equivalent of the Year of Our Lord, when, fittingly, it all began. Starting as 500:1 underdogs, India miraculously reached the final, where they folded up for 183.

Suddenly, the Mad Hatter struck. Maddi-pa (Madan Lal), who was being treated by Viv Richards with utter disdain, snatched the ball from Kapil Dev’s hands, insisting that he be allowed to bowl one more over. A gentle half-tracker caught the top edge of Viv Richards’ bat, and, well, you know the rest.

Since then, in almost every ICC final and semi-final, India has started as the favourite (except in 2003). And, like fame, as Naseeruddin Shah lamented in The Dirty Picture, it has been a curse.

In 1987, on a turning track, England were expected to roll over in the semi-finals at Bombay-a mere pit stop before India’s tryst with the final at Calcutta. But, like Professor Quirrell in the Harry Potter series, someone jinxed India.

First, Dilip Vengsarkar came down with a stomach bug, leaving India a batsman short (his replacement was Chandrakant Pandit). Then, Graham Gooch swept Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri with maddening precision and consistency. And finally, when victory was in sight, Kapil Dev, in a moment of madness, hit Eddie Hemmings straight to mid-wicket, where Mike Gatting had placed himself exactly for that denouement.

In 1996, after losing to India in the quarter-finals, even Aamir Sohail welcomed India to Lahore (the venue of the final) in advance. At purported pit stop Calcutta, Mad Max (Aravinda de Silva) counter-attacked India in the semi-final after Sri Lanka had lost three quick wickets (0, 1, 1), taking them to an unexpected 251.

At 98/1, with Sachin Tendulkar on the charge, India was on the cusp of victory. But the Mad Hatter was triggered again.

First, a Jayasuriya delivery rolled off Sachin Tendulkar’s pads to the wicketkeeper, leaving him short of the crease by inches. And then the ball began to turn from Kalighat to Howrah Bridge. India crumbled to 120/8, Kambli stumbled to his knees, and the fans flipped the sanity switch, forcing the umpires to award the match to Sri Lanka (the shame of watching that madness!).

We can go on right till the end. From the final of the 2000 Champions Trophy (called the ICC Knockout then) to the silencing of the lakh-plus fans by Pat Cummins in 2023, and everything in between-except the MSD miracle in 2011. It all leads us to this point: India lost every time it was expected to win.

Why does India have a poor record in semis and finals? There is just one explanation:

The burden of expectations, something that has been on Indian shoulders since 1983. Perhaps the only time Indian fans were not so gung-ho about their team’s chances was in 1991-92, when India went into the World Cup after a poor summer in Australia. (In 1999, India started with losses against South Africa and Zimbabwe, sabotaging its chances so early that fans gave up quickly).

Why India crumbles when it has everything going for it-excellent form, supportive fans, and favourable conditions-is a subject for deeper analysis. But performance anxiety is indeed India’s bane at ICC events.

In the three tournaments India won in recent history-the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2013 Champions Trophy, and the 2024 T20 edition-India almost managed to lose the final. In these matches, India was staring at defeat before the game turned miraculously-the Misbah mishit in 2007, the South African collapse and the Suryakumar Yadav catch in 2024. Even in the 2013 Champions Trophy, a match marred by rain, India’s batters had failed. But England lost due to poor luck and poorer umpiring (a story for another time).

History tells us that Indian batting and bowling are never at their best in ICC knockout games. Sometimes, India gets away with a below-par performance because its opponent also chokes at key moments. But that opponent is never Australia or New Zealand-both these teams thrive under pressure.

On Sunday, like always, India is starting as the favourite. It is unbeaten in the tournament. Its batters (except for the two openers who have blown hot and cold) are in good form. The pitches favour spinners, and India has the best troika on display. The crowds will cheer for India. Everything portends an Indian win. And that’s the bad news.

Hope is not always reality, but who’s to say which is which? The Mad Hatter would agree.

Sandipan Sharma, our guest author, likes to write on cricket, cinema, music and politics. He believes they are interconnected.

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