Even in 2007 we were not the best team. But we played without caring about reputation with honesty, commitment and passion. Too bad, it was a different story this time.Conclusion:  It was a combination of all these factors that led to India’s defeat. We tend to look for a fall guy. There is none. Obviously, Dhoni should shoulder a larger portion of the blame because he is the captain. But as I have tried to explain there were several other factors at work. No team can win if its top three batsmen and premier pace duo fail to do their job consecutively on three days.This is pretty hard to believe, guys: three T20 defeats in a row. If the West Indies fast bowlers proved we cannot play pace, the South Africans showed we cannot handle the turning ball either. So what are we? Just flat pitch bullies?

Though our spinners bowled well in restricting South Africa to 130, I still can’t fathom why we kept Pragyan Ojha out on a spinner-friendly track. By and large, our batting followed the same disappointing pattern as in previous games. The top order failed in varying degrees. Not one player crossed 30 runs. With five runs off 12 balls, Dhoni’s horror story reached its climax. In the end, we weren’t even close, losing by a comfortable 12 runs. With India having played its last game, I am skipping the player by player analysis today. Let me try to put our defeats in perspective. Seven of the 11 cricketers who played and lost against England on Sunday were the ones who had vanquished Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final: Dhoni, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan and RP Singh. So why did the team capitulate so dramatically in the crunch games this time? Here are seven reasons why we triumphed in 2007 and were humiliated in 2009:

1. Couldn’t handle the pressure of expectations: Before the 2007 World Cup, T20 was just a sideshow in the eyes of the cricket world, especially India. Going to South Africa, M S Dhoni and company were one of the least experienced sides in the tournament. Till then, India had played just one T20 international. That Sachin, Sourav and Dravid had opted out had further devalued the tournament in the eyes of the Indian fans who were still looking at the format with a degree of cynicism and suspicion. Remember this is life before IPL. Dhoni and company had no burden of expectation on their shoulders. The guys played without a care in the world and with a spirit of fun. When Robin Uthappa hit the stumps in the bowl-out against Pakistan, he doffed his hat to the crowd.

3. The IPL fatigue: When I blogged, Is IPL2 hurting India’s World Cup chance on May 14, I was denounced for being a pessimist. The fact remains that for BCCI making money is more important than winning World Cups. Which is why nobody objected to the fact that there was absolutely no gap between IPL2 and T20 World Cup 2. After six gruelling weeks, the IPL ended on May 24 in South Africa. Within a week, the team was playing practice games in London. Which is why the team looked jaded. Now coach Kirsten is talking on similar lines.

4. Crucial injuries: It wasn’t just a case of mental fatigue. Let us not forget that injuries sustained in IPL2 to Sehwag and Zaheer badly hurt the team. While Zaheer’s efficacy in T20 hasn’t really been proved yet – I know he is India’s best Test bowler — Sehwag’s exit was a big blow to India’s chance. This is for two reasons. First, the wise men had not selected a back-up, third opener for the squad. Which meant that Rohit had to be converted into a makeshift opener. This hurt our middle-order badly. Second, Sehwag scores at a blistering pace. In 2007, he fired an electrifying 40 off 17 balls against a Kiwi attack that included Shane Bond. In six overs, India had smashed 76 runs. Who was really going to do that at the top? With Sehwag’s exit, the chances of doing that diminished.

5. The flopping of Dhoni: In 2007, most of the high-risk moves taken by Dhoni had paid off to a greater or lesser degree. Sending debutant Yusuf Pathan to open was one such step. Asking Joginder Sharma to bowl the last over, ahead of Harbhajan in the final against Pakistan, was another such move. Both paid off.  On the contrary, his off-beat moves such as promoting Jadeja flopped this time. Simply put, it was a terrible mistake. Wasn’t Dhoni watching the practice games or what? Yuvraj has a good bowling record against Pietersen. But on the day this move too flopped. There were other on-field mistakes by the captain too. RP Singh was the best of the three fast bowlers on the day. How come he is the only paceman who didn’t finish his four overs?