No team has evoked as much shock, despair, furore, criticism and lament in this World Cup as India. Touted favourites for the title, Virat Kohli and his beleaguered team, after losing comprehensively to Pakistan and New Zealand, are on the precipice of an ignominious, premature ouster from the tournament.

India need to win their three remaining matches, and handsomely, but even that may not ensure a place in the semifinal. Among the three teams, they have to beat is Afghanistan, currently placed no. 2 on the points table, nursing aspirations of their own to make it to the last four. Tonight’s contest, therefore, is do or die.

That’s not the end of the hardship though. Afghanistan — and more improbably, Scotland or Namibia — have to beat New Zealand for India to get a clear lifeline. However, if any of these team can beat the Kiwis, there is good reason to believe they have the wherewithal to beat a badly struggling Indian team. Especially the hardy Afghans who ran Pakistan extremely close.

How did India, overflowing with marquee names and a good track record in this format in bilateral series, come to such a sorry pass?

Several reasons have been proffered by former players, from India and otherwise. Fatigue from excessive cricket over the past 12 months, too much time spent in the bio-secure bubble which has left the players mentally drained, not enough time spent together in preparation for the World Cup (implying that the IPL took precedence over this), haphazard selection with out of form and not fully fit players being preferred, too many power centres with the addition of MS Dhoni as mentor etc.

All – or even more – of these factors, to a small or large extent, could have played some part, but does not rationalise the debacle witnessed against Pakistan and New Zealand.

A 10-wicket drubbing by Pakistan was unexpected but seemed an aberration. The eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand was actually worse in cricketing terms.

In the first match, India were overwhelmed by a side that didn’t put a foot wrong right from the first over. Pakistan’s bowlers, batters and fielders put up an astounding show and if cricket matches could be decided by ratings, this was a 10/10 performance.

There were many lessons to be learned from this setback. But against New Zealand in what was a virtual quarterfinal, India looked apprehensive, unsure, confused — in tactics, technical ability and temperament. There was neither head nor heart, allowing New Zealand to pull off a terribly important win with ridiculous ease.

The utter one-sidedness of both contests makes it difficult to find excuses for the defeats. The only one which makes some sense in the circumstances is Kohli losing the toss on both occasions. The pattern in this tournament has been overwhelmingly in favour of teams batting second, so being put in to bat first was a distinct disadvantage.

But that still does not explain the abject manner of defeats. There has been only one half-century (by Kohli versus Pakistan) and the only wickets India’s bowlers have taken in two matches are those by Jasprit Bumrah (2) against New Zealand. This belies the calibre and experience that the team possess.

The only explanation in the circumstances that made sense came from Kohli after the defeat to New Zealand. “We were not brave enough,” he said. Though it does demean the high rating his players and the Indian team enjoy in the sport currently, this was a candid admission of where the team had faltered.

The Indian team are always under high pressure of expectation from their fans, but this time it seemed to weigh heavily on the players. Normally, Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and others enjoy the attention and the big stage. This time it seemed they were cowering under the spotlight.

The hesitant, stuttering approach of the players, especially the batsmen, was an immediate giveaway of a side being burdened by their own star power. There was no gumption in the top and middle order, only grim battle for survival interspersed with a few reckless strokes.

How perplexed and defensive the mindset had become was made plain by the decision to bat Rohit, arguably the best white-ball batsman in the world, at no. 3 instead of his customary position as opener. That sent out a strong signal to New Zealand that the Indians did not have the stomach for a fight. Defeat became inevitable, leaving the favoured team languishing at the bottom of the group on points, dependent on other, weaker teams to possibly help rescue it from a disaster similar to the one in the 2007 ODI World Cup.

As mentioned earlier, India’s fate is no longer in their hands. For even a sliver of hope, however, it is imperative the players rediscover their mojo, play to potential and hope for divinity to smile on them. Afghanistan are not an easy team to conquer. They play with bravado, and also a great deal of skill, especially in the spin bowling, led by the redoubtable Rashid Khan.

Afghanistan’s batting does not have much heft, and their pace department is more workmanlike than threatening. But they take their cricket seriously, put in heart and soul in the efforts, and seem to relish the big matches against fancied teams. India have their task cut out.