India were knocked out of the Twenty20 World Cup after a last-ball six from Sri Lanka's Chamara Kapugedera condemned them to their third straight defeat in the Super Eights stage on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka's batsmen timed their chase to perfection, finishing with 167 for five in their 20 overs in reply to India's 163 for five.
For the second straight time India failed to make to make it to the semi-finals of the competition, unable to win any matches in the Super Eights stage.
The exit is certainly embarrassing considering that they were champions in the inaugural edition in 2007 and enthusiastically adopted the Twenty20 format through the Indian Premier League.
While the players looked jaded after a tiring season, the team was found wanting in all departments of the game. Even Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy left a lot of question marks.
So what went wrong with India's challenge in the Caribbean?
Is excessive cricket, as a result of the just-concluded IPL, to blame for the dismal showing? Was the team under-prepared for such a high-profile event?
