For the First Time in 23 Years India Face an ICC Knockout Without Rohit and Kohli
End of an Era will sound way too real to the Indian fans as India prepares for the semi-final against England. It will be India's first ICC knockout in 23 years without Rohit and Virat in the team.
End of an Era will sound way too real to the Indian fans as India prepares for the semi-final against England. It will be India's first ICC knockout in 23 years without Rohit and Virat in the team. The last time India played an ICC knockout without either one of them was back in the 2003 World Cup final.
India has been dominant in the T20 World Cup 2026, as the defending champions will play the semi-final clash against England. But this knockout match won't feel the same to the Indian fans. The main reason behind it is the absence of two stars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the team. They retired from the T20 format back in 2024 after India won the T20 World Cup.
Even after that, India played the Champions Trophy knockouts with Rohit and Virat in the line-up. Since then, the clash between India and England which will take place today marks the first without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the team. After 23 years, could also mark the end of an era which every fan loved.
World Cup 2003 Final
The 2003 World Cup final was the last time when India played an ICC Knockout without having Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli in the team. India finished second in the Pool stages with 5 wins in 6 matches and advanced to the Super Sixes. Later, the team also finished 2nd in the Super Sixes with 5 wins in 6 matches. Defeating Kenya in the semi-final, India went to the final against Australia.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
The match was being played at Johannesburg, and Australia was batting first. Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden gave them a strong start, putting up 101 runs for the first wicket. After getting rid of both openers, the Indian bowlers faced the onslaught of Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn. Ponting went on to score 140 runs off 121 balls, as Martyn smashed 88 runs off 84. Australia finished with a mammoth total of 359 runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
For India, the chase was not good at all. Sachin Tendulkar (4), Sourav Ganguly (24), and Mohammad Kaif (0), were dismissed cheaply. Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag started to have a good stand, but Sehwag eventually lost his wicket after scoring 82 runs off 81 balls. This was also followed by the wicket of Rahul Dravid, who got out after scoring 47 runs off 57 balls.
Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo
With these two crucial wickets, the match was almost gone from the hands of the Indian team. Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia showed some fight but that was not enough against the Australian bowlers. India was bowled out for 234 runs, losing the World Cup final against Australia by 125 runs.
ICC Knockouts with Rohit or Virat
Since the 2003 World Cup final, India has played the ICC Knockouts with either Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli in the team. While Virat Kohli played his first ICC event back in 2011, Rohit Sharma made his debut 4 years back in the T20 World Cup 2007. Since then, both players have played together in multiple tournaments and even won trophies together for the Indian team.
ICC Knockouts with Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli:
- T20 World Cup 2007 Semi-final vs Australia
- Rohit Sharma: 8 (5)
- Virat Kohli: NA
- T20 World Cup 2007 Final vs Pakistan
- Rohit Sharma: 30 (16)
- Virat Kohli: NA
- World Cup 2011 Quarterfinal vs Australia
- Rohit Sharma: NA
- Virat Kohli: 24 (33)
- World Cup 2011 Semi-final vs Pakistan
- Rohit Sharma: NA
- Virat Kohli: 9 (21)
- World Cup 2011 Final vs Sri Lanka
- Rohit Sharma: NA
- Virat Kohli: 35 (49)
- Champions Trophy 2013 Semi-final vs Sri Lanka
- Rohit Sharma: 33 (50)
- Virat Kohli: 58 (64)
- Champions Trophy 2013 Final vs England
- Rohit Sharma: 9 (14)
- Virat Kohli: 43 (34)
- T20 World Cup 2014 Semi-final vs South Africa
- Rohit Sharma: 24 (13)
- Virat Kohli: 72* (44)
- T20 World Cup 2014 Final vs Sri Lanka
- Rohit Sharma: 29 (26)
- Virat Kohli: 77* (58)
- World Cup 2015 Quarter-final vs Bangladesh
- Rohit Sharma: 137 (126)
- Virat Kohli: 3 (8)
- World Cup 2015 Semi-final vs Australia
- Rohit Sharma: 34 (48)
- Virat Kohli: 1 (13)
- T20 World Cup 2016 Semi-final vs West Indies
- Rohit Sharma: 43 (31)
- Virat Kohli: 89* (47)
- Champions Trophy 2017 Semi-final vs Bangladesh
- Rohit Sharma: 123* (129
- Virat Kohli: 96* (78)
- Champions Trophy 2017 Final vs Pakistan
- Rohit Sharma: 0 (3)
- Virat Kohli: 5 (9)
- World Cup 2019 Semi-final vs New Zealand
- Rohit Sharma: 1 (4)
- Virat Kohli: 1 (6)
- T20 World Cup 2022 Semi-final vs England
- Rohit Sharma: 27 (28)
- Virat Kohli: 50 (40)
- World Cup 2023 Semi-final vs New Zealand
- Rohit Sharma: 47 (29)
- Virat Kohli: 117 (113)
- World Cup 2023 Final vs Australia
- Rohit Sharma: 47 (31)
- Virat Kohli: 54 (63)
- T20 World Cup 2024 Semi-final vs England
- Rohit Sharma: 57 (39)
- Virat Kohli: 9 (9)
- T20 World Cup 2024 Final vs South Africa
- Rohit Sharma: 9 (5)
- Virat Kohli: 76 (59)
- Champions Trophy 2025 Semi-final vs Australia
- Rohit Sharma: 28 (29)
- Virat Kohli: 84 (98)
- Champions Trophy 2025 Final vs New Zealand
- Rohit Sharma: 76 (83)
- Virat Kohli: 1 (2)
With Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli in the team, India played a massive total of 22 knockout games over the last 23 years. Rohit Sharma won the 2007 T20 World Cup, and Kohli won the 2011 World Cup, as these were the only two tournaments in the last 23 years without both in the line-up. Still, the stalwarts have been a part of India's winning line-up in the Champions Trophy 2013, T20 World Cup 2024, and Champions Trophy 2025.
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