Hardik Pandya hits a six during his 43-ball 76 against Pakistan

India found out that while winning the trophy is tough, retaining the crown is a lot tougher. Though India got lucky with the draw (India didn't play Australia, New Zealand and England), it did fall short in the final frontier. Before we discuss the lessons learnt from the campaign, it's important to acknowledge the way India played in crunch situations. The way they annihilated South Africa and Bangladesh after the loss to Sri Lanka was a good indicator of how good this team can be.

Virat Kohli has invested a lot of faith in Hardik Pandya and he justified it in the final. It was only the third time Pandya finished his quota of 10 overs in his young ODI career and the way he batted showed he's the team's cleanest hitter. He has hit more sixes than any other batsman in the tournament despite playing only a handful of deliveries. While his bowling still needs work (must bowl a lot fuller), his batting looks ready to take over the mantle of finishing from Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.