New Delhi: Over the 48-year history of ICC World Cups, many teams have sent shock waves across the world by defeating the big cricketing giants and creating some of the most exciting memories of cricketing history.
When the underdogs Afghanistan defeated the defending champions England by 69 runs, they joined an elite list of unlikely heroes who gave their country a moment of pride by overcoming the hardest of obstacles and securing a win over a big country team.
From Kevin O Brian’s heroics against England in the 2011 World Cup, to the ultimate underdogs, India, getting the best of mighty West Indies at the 1983 World Cup, today we will take a look at ten of the top shocking upsets pulled in the World Cup which changed the cricketing world drastically.
1. India vs West Indies (1983)
Having made it to the World Cup final for the first time, India had a successful World Cup campaign in 1983. But defeating the West Indies, who had already won the World Cup twice, was a difficult challenge. However, defeating the two-time defending champions remained a challenge for the Indians despite the fact that the two teams had shared the prizes during the group stage. In the end, Srikkanth led the way with 38 points as India batted first and only managed to score 183. Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal each took three wickets as India put up a valiant effort to hold the total down. There were two wickets for Balwinder Sandhu, one for Rogger Binny and one each for Kapil Dev. India won the World Cup for the first time after West Indies fell for 140.
2. Kenya vs West Indies (1996)
During the 1996 World Cup in Pune, Kenya faced up against the West Indies. Following laborious innings by Steve Tikolo, Hitesh Modi, and Thomas Odoyo, Kenya was bowled out for 166 in 50 overs while batting first. West Indies struggled to make runs, being bowled out for only 93 runs as a result of Rajab Ali and Maurice Odumbe both taking three wickets. Nine batsmen were bowled on single digits, demonstrating how ineffective the West Indies were in the chase.
3. Zimbabwe vs South Africa (1999)
During the 1999 World Cup, Zimbabwe pulled off a stunning heist over their rival African team, South Africa. A group game pitted the two teams against one another. Zimbabwe scored 233/6 in their opening innings of play, with Neil Johnson scoring 76 points in 117 balls. During the chase, South Africa was reduced to 40/6. Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusner scored half-centuries lower in the order, but South Africa was finally bowled out for 185, leading to one of the greatest upsets in ODI World Cup history.
4. Bangladesh vs Pakistan (1999)
Bangladesh shocked their Asian rival Pakistan by defeating them by 62 runs in Northampton on their first day of competition in the ICC Cricket World Cup. When Bangladesh batted first, they scored 223 runs thanks to innings of 42 runs from Akram Khan and 39 runs from opener Shahriar Hussain. Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq also claimed five wickets for his team. Khaled Mahmud’s three vital dismissals in the second inning, which destroyed the backbone of Pakistan’s batting and left them five down with only 42 runs remaining, caused a huge collapse for Pakistan. The bottom order attempted to recover from the collapse but struggled to build partnerships. They bundled at a total of 161 runs.
5. Canada vs Bangladesh (2003)
In 2003, Canada competed in the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 24 years, and they defeated Bangladesh in their opening game. Bangladesh’s thorough bowling display caused them to dismiss the whole Canadian team for 180 runs. Nevertheless, Canada would not allow Bangladesh to relax, and oddly enough, only four Canadian bowlers participated in the match as Austin Codrington completely destroyed Bangladesh by taking five wickets. After returning to the ICC Cricket World Cup, Canada triumphed by a score of 60 runs.
6. Kenya vs Sri Lanka (2003)
Kenya won by 53 runs against Sri Lanka in their home game, one of the competition’s top teams. Kennedy Otieno scored 60 runs to lead Kenya’s 210-run total after being asked to bat. In the course of capturing five wickets as Sri Lanka entered the chase, Collins Obuya decimated the Sri Lankan batting. As Kenya and the home audience celebrated their victory, the entire Sri Lankan team returned to the dressing room at a score of 157 runs.
7. Bangladesh vs India (2007)
In the opening match of the 2007 World Cup, Bangladesh shocked the Indian team by defeating them by a margin of five wickets. On the strength of Sourav Ganguly’s 66 runs and Yuvraj Singh’s 47 runs, India could only muster 191 runs in the first inning, losing four wickets to Mashrafe Mortaza. Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Shakib Al Hasan all produced half-centuries as Bangladesh reached the mark with nine balls left to bowl.
8. Ireland vs Pakistan (2007)
No one has managed to pull more upsets than the giant killers Ireland. During the 2007 World Cup, Ireland surprised Pakistan by winning. Group D contained both of the teams combined. Trent Johnston, the captain of Ireland, won the toss and requested that Pakistan bat first. Boyd Rankin, Andre Botha, Kyle McCallan, Dave Langford-Smith, Kevin O’Brien, and Johnston all contributed to Ireland’s successful effort to hold Pakistan to 132 all out. Due to rain throughout the game, Ireland’s amended aim was 128 runs in 47 overs. With a score of 72, Niall O’Brien was the chase’s top performer.
This loss also indirectly led to the death of the then-Pakistani head coach Bob Woolmer.
9. Ireland vs England (2011)
When Ireland chased down the goal of 328 set by England at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore during a 2011 World Cup match, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the ODI World Cup. While batting first, England was propelled by Kevin Pietersen (59), Jonathan Trot (92), and Ian Bell(81*) to reach 327. Ireland began the chase gently. The chase was then led by Kevin O’Brien, who batted at number six and scored a blistering 113 in just 63 balls. After that, Ireland, despite late jitters, won the game thanks to Alex Cuscak’s 47 and John Mooney’s handy cameo of 33.
10. Ireland vs West Indies (2015)
Ireland’s title of the giant killers was once again on display against West Indies in the 2015, World Cup in Australia. At Nelson’s Saxton Oval, Ireland shocked the two-time world champions by defeating West Indies by four wickets. West Indies was asked to bat after Ireland won the toss, and they scored 304. Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy each scored 102 and 89 runs, respectively, as Dockrell claimed three wickets to dismantle the Caribbean batsmen, who lost five wickets for a total of 87 runs. Paul Sterling and Ed Joyce scored 92 and 84 runs, respectively, before losing their wickets, demonstrating the Irish top order’s tenacity in giving the team a solid start. After that, Niall O’Brien led the batting with an unbroken 79 runs to give West Indies a shock with four wickets and 25 balls left to bat.
