India at the Cricket World Cup
Encyclopedia
The Indian cricket team
are the current world cup champions. In addition to winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup
on home soil, they won the 1983 Cricket World Cup
. They were also runner-up at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
, and semifinalists in the 1996 Cricket World Cup
and in the 1987 Cricket World Cup
.They came 6th place in the Super 6 in the 1999 World Cup and have been knocked out of the world cup 4 times in Group stage (1975, 1979, 1992 and 2007).
India lost their first match to hosts England
by 202 runs after England scored 334 (4 wickets, 60 overs) in their allotted overs, with help from DL Amiss (137 from 147 balls), and KWR Fletcher (68 from 107 balls), who shared a second-wicket partnership of 176 runs. Any hopes of an Indian win were lost after some extremely controversial batting by Sunil Gavaskar
(36 from 174 balls, 1 four), who batted through the 60 overs for 36 not out as India scored 132 (3 wickets, 60 overs). This match was treated as a disgrace in India
and the players were faced with much criticism.
The rest of India's World Cup Campaign was less controversial; they picked up an easy 10 wicket win against minnows East Africa (through some more intelligent batting by Sunil Gavaskar
(65 from 86 balls, 9 fours) and Farokh Engineer
(54 from 93 balls, 7 fours)before bowing out of the tournament in a must-win match against New Zealand
. After scoring 230 all out in 60 overs, led by a half-century from Abid Ali (70 from 98 balls, 5 fours, 1 six), Glenn Turner
(114 from 177 balls, 13 fours) brought New Zealand
home with 4 wickets and 1.1 overs remaining.
.
The Indian Squad of the 1975 World Cup comprised:
as well as New Zealand
, and minnows Sri Lanka
. Once again, the matches were played in 60-over ODI. India got off to a bad start after their top order capitulated to a strong West Indies, with only Gundappa Viswanath (75 from 134 balls, 7 fours) putting up any resistance. They eventually lost by 9 wickets, the only wicket being that of Desmond Haynes
, nabbed LBW by Kapil Dev
, as Gordon Greenidge (106 from 173 balls) put up an unbeaten West Indian century.
The next match practically ended their World Cup Campaign, with a 8-wicket loss at the hands of New Zealand. The match was reasonably close as India were all out for 182 with 5 overs to spare, with only Sunil Gavaskar (55 from 144 balls, 5 fours) putting up any resistance, and New Zealand had only 3 overs remaining to achieve their target. All bowlers gave little over 3 runs an over, but BA Edgar (84 from 167 balls) eventually brought New Zealand home, in a 100-run opening partnership with JG Wright. A demoralized India went into the last match against Sri Lanka as favourites, but they failed to chase down Sri Lanka's 238, losing by 47 runs. India ended their World Cup without managing to score above 200, a performance that generated renewed uproar in India.
The Indian Squad of the 1979 World Cup composed of:
and Australia
, creating formidable matchups for a team that had become known for its inability to perform in the World Cup.
India opened up their campaign against the favourites, the West Indies. But it shocked all observers with a 34 run victory thanks to a strong performance from Yashpal Sharma
(89 from 120 balls, 9 fours). India totalled up 262 in 60 overs and tumbled the West Indies out for 228, thanks to a quick 3 wickets from Ravi Shastri
. A confident team went on to deal out a thrashing against Zimbabwe, chasing down the total of 156 with 23 overs and 5 wickets to spare, helped by a half-century from Sandeep Patil
(50 from 54 balls, 7 fours, 1 six). Madan Lal
was the destroyer in chief with his three wickets. However, the confidence and morale were short-lived as India was dealt out a 162 run thrashing from Australia 2 days later. India collapsed to 158 attempting to chase Australia's mammoth 320.
As India entered the second half of the group stage, they opened up with a loss against the West Indies by 66 runs. Vivian Richards (119 from 146 balls) took the West Indies to 282 in 60 overs, a score that India was unable to chase despite Mohinder Amarnath's
(80 from 139 balls) good innings. India's next match against Zimbabwe was to become famous for the remainder of history. The favourites, India, were 5-17 by an emerging Zimbabwe bowling lineup. A defeat would have made qualifying for the semifinal impossible, but Kapil Dev's
(175 from 138 balls, 16 fours, 6 sixes)* famous innings took India to 266 (he combined with Syed Kirmani
(24 from 56 balls, 2 fours) in a 126 run 9th wicket partnership). The Zimbabwe batsmen got starts but were once again hampered by Kapil Dev
and Madan Lal
who got 4 wickets between them. India ended up winning by 31 runs. However, the last match against Australia was still a must win. But India made light work, winning by 118 runs thanks to 4-wicket hauls by Madan Lal
and Roger Binny
.
India's semi-final match against England contained no drama. India coasting to a 6 wicket victory. The major contributors were Yashpal Sharma
(61 from 115 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes), Mohinder Amarnath
(46 from 92 balls, 4 fours, 1 six), and Sandeep Patil (51 from 32 balls, 8 fours) with the bat. Kapil Dev picked up 3-35 to seal a victory that took India to the World Cup final. The final was considered somewhat of an anticlimax, most expecting a clear West Indies win although India had beaten them in the preliminary rounds. The West Indies tumbled India out for 183, with Kris Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) top scoring, and were cruising on their way to a memorable victory at 2-57, with Vivian Richards (33 from 28 balls) at the head before suffering a major collapse. They were annihilated by the Indian bowlers and reached 6-76 before providing some sort of resistance. They were all out for 140, India won by 43 runs. The heroes of the day were Mohinder Amarnath (3/12 and 26) and Kris Srikkanth (top scorer with 38).
The Indian Squad that won the 1983 World Cup comprised:
India's record: 6−2 (champions)
, New Zealand
and Zimbabwe. The matches had been reduced to 50 overs to accommodate for the number of daylight hours on the Indian subcontinent
. India's start to the tournament was bright, as it topped the pool, getting 5 wins and only 1 loss, this loss being by only 1 run. It carried this out despite the fact that it lacked the likes of its past World Cup heroes: Mohinder Amarnath
and Madan Lal
, India's team was still captained by Kapil Dev
and featured veterans like Sunil Gavaskar
.
The first match of the tournament for India was arguably the most eventful one. Australia won the match by just 1 run, after piling up 270 in their first innings, helped by a century from Geoff Marsh (110 from 141 balls). India began their innings brightly and were cruising at 2-207 before Navjot Sidhu (73 from 79 balls, 4 fours, 5 sixes) fell. This was followed by a spectacular middle order and tailend collapse that made India lost their last 8 wickets for just 62 runs. India were all out for 269 with one ball remaining in the match, leaving the possibility of a tie or victory within their grasp. The performance was heartening, however, because of the strong batting of Kris Srikkanth (70 from 83 balls, 7 fours) and Navjot Sidhu.
The second match against New Zealand was dramatic too, with Navjot Sidhu (75 from 71 balls, 4 fours, 4 sixes) once again rescuing India after India had fallen to 3/21, and Kapil Dev
(72 from 58 balls, 4 fours, 1 six)*, cutting loose brilliantly in the later half of the innings, taking India to 252. India eventually pulled off a 16-run victory thanks to some economical bowling from Ravi Shastri
and Mohammed Azharuddin. The rest of the group stage were smooth runnings for India, getting Zimbabwe all out for 135 and then beating them by 8 wickets in the third match. India beat Australia in the third match by 56 runs after India totalled up 289 (6 wickets, 50 overs), with Dilip Vengsarkar
(63 from 60 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes), Sunil Gavaskar
(61 from 72 balls, 7 fours), Mohammed Azharuddin (54 from 45 balls, 5 fours, 1 six)* and Navjot Sidhu (51 from 70 balls, 2 fours) all scoring half-centuries, and a 7 wicket win over Zimbabwe, with Navjot Sidhu (55 from 61 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) never failing to score 40 in a memorable World Cup campaign. India sealed up the Group Stage with a 9-wicket thrashing of New Zealand, as their batsmen chased down 221 with 18 overs and 9 wickets to spare, thanks to a 136-run opening partnership between Kris Srikkanth (75 from 58 balls, 9 fours, 3 sixes), and Sunil Gavaskar
(103 from 88 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes)*.
India went into the semi-finals facing the mouth-watering prospect of facing arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. But to the horror of fans, their world cup campaign ended in the Semis against England
. Kapil Dev
bowled strongly as England managed to put up 254 in the first innings, helped by strong performances from Graham Gooch (115 from 136 balls, 11 fours) and captain Mike Gatting (56 from 62 balls, 5 fours). But India was pushed out of contention as Navjot Sidhu and Sunil Gavaskar
failed. A strong performance from Mohammed Azharuddin (64 from 74 balls, 7 fours) pulled India within reach of the target, but the tail failed to capitalize, India losing by 35 runs with 5 overs to spare.
The Indian Squad of the 1987 World Cup comprised:
and Zimbabwe.
Even the general player performances were at best, lacklustre, Mohammed Azharuddin was the leading batsman, scoring 332 runs in 7 matches without a century included. Sachin Tendulkar
scored 283 runs in 7 innings that included 3 fifties. Tendulkar also ended up with a strike rate of 83.98, 6th in the tournament. The highest batting strike rate in the tournament was that of Kapil Dev
, who carried a strike rate of 124.81.
The Indian Squad of the 1992 World Cup comprised:
India were the co-hosts of the 1996 Cricket World Cup
along with Pakistan
and Sri Lanka
and were expected to perform well at home. Changes in format included the re-use of a group format, in which there were two pools of six, after which the top four from each group prgogressed to the quarter-finals. India was placed in Group A with Australia
, Kenya
, Sri Lanka
, West Indies and Zimbabwe. With the West Indies beginning to lose their grip on ODI cricket and with the inclusion of two minnows in their group, India were expected to cruise into the quarter-finals.
India started their World cup campaign well with beating Kenya, first restricting them to 199/6, Kumble taking 3/28 and then chasing it down easily to win by 7 wickets with Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant century (127 from 138 balls, 15 fours, 1 six).India played the next match against West Indies to whom they bowled all out at 173 with Kumble again capturing 3/35 and Sachin Tendulkar (70 runs, 91 balls, 8 fours) again handily cruised India to victory.
India then faced tournament favourites Australia in Bombay, and the tourists batted first after winning the toss. Mark Waugh
(126 from 135 balls) and Mark Taylor
(59 from 73 balls) set the foundation with a 103 run opening stand, and Australia reached 3/232 before Waugh was dismissed for 126. Australia suffered five run-outs, four in the last ten overs whilst chasing quick runs, with Venkatesh Prasad
and Raju taking two wickets each. India's chase started poorly, with Ajay Jadeja
and Vinod Kambli
dismissed by Damien Fleming
with only seven runs scored. Sachin Tendulkar
(90 from 84 balls, 14 fours, 1 six) counter-attacked ferociously, and India were well ahead of the required run rate at 3/143 when he charged a wide from Mark Waugh
and was stumped for 90. From there onward, the run chase began to falter, with only Sanjay Manjrekar
managing 62 from 91 balls, resulting in a 16 run loss, dismissed for 242 in the 48th over.
India then faced Sri Lanka in a batsman dominated match in Delhi
. Sachin Tendulkar (137 from 137 balls, 8 fours, 5 sixes) blasted another fantastic run-a-ball century (137 from 137 balls, 8fours, 5 sixes) and captain Mohammed Azharuddin made 72 from 80 balls in a 175 run partnership as India compiled 3/271. However, the opening pair of Romesh Kaluwitharana
and Sanath Jayasuriya
launched Sri Lanka to 42 after just three overs. Jayasuriya managed to score 79 from 77 balls, leaving the score at 4/141. With the run-rate under control, Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga
(46*) and Hashan Tillakaratne
(70*) made a 131 run partnership to steer them to a six wicket win with eight balls remaining. Kumble led the bowling with 2/39 whilst Prabhakar was punished for 47 runs in four overs.
India ended the group stage against Zimbabwe in Kanpur, who won the toss and sent the Indians in to bat. After slumping to 3/32, Sidhu (80 from 116 balls, 5 fours) and Vinod Kambli
(106 from 110 balls, 11 fours) put on 142 runs before Jadeja finished off the innings with 44* from 27 balls to total 5/247. The Zimbabweans lost wickets at regular intervals and fell 40 runs short, with Raju taking 3/30 and Kumble, Srinath and Jadeja two each.
India's third placing in the group left them with a quarter final matchup against arch rivals Pakistan, who had finished second in their group at Bangalore
. The match had a huge leadup, and Pakistani captain Wasim Akram
withdrew due to injury. India elected to bat after winning the toss, with Navjot Sidhu (93 from 115 balls, 11 fours) and Tendulkar reaching 90 before the fall of Tendulkar. Sidhu went on to fall just short of a century, and although wickets fell regularly, the Indians continued to score quickly, with Jadeja scoring a rapid 45 from 25 balls in the final overs, including 40 from Waqar Younis
' last two overs. Prasad and Kumble then took three wickets each to keep Pakistan to 248 to complete a memorable victory. This resulted in widespread disappointment in Pakistan, leading to a government inquiry, crowd demonstrations outside players' homes and the suicide of one distraught fan.
India were faced Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens
in Calcutta and sent Sri Lanka in to bat first. Both Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya were dismissed in Srinath's first over, uppercutting wide balls down to third man. Srinath then removed Asanka Gurusinha
to leave the score at 3/35. However half centuries from Aravinda de Silva
(66 from 47 balls) and Roshan Mahanama
(58 from 101 balls) helped Sri Lanka to a total of 8/251. India made a solid start, with Sachin Tendulkar
(65 from 88 balls, 9 fours) scoring a half-century and taking India to 1/98. However, the pitch began to crumble and take more spin, and when Tendulkar was stumped, the incoming batsmen were unable to cope with the four pronged spin-attack of Jayasuriya (3/12), de Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan
and Kumar Dharmasena
, who took 6 wickets as India lost 7/22 to slump to 8/120. At this point, sections of the crowd began setting fire to the stands and throwing missiles onto the field. Play was stopped as the crowd's anger began to develop into a dangerous riot. Umpires decided that Sri Lanka be awarded the game due to India's hopeless position, knocking them out of the World Cup.
India's campaign was higlighted by the consistency of Sachin Tendulkar, who managed 50 or more in all but two of his matches. With 523 runs at 87.16, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer in the entire World Cup, with two of his six dismissal due to run outs rather than batting errors. His 137 against Sri Lanka was the 4th highest of the entire tournament and his partnership of 175 with Azharuddin the fourth highest in the tournament. No other Indian batsmen aggregated 250 runs. India was also bolstered by the performances of Anil Kumble
, who was leading wicket taker in the entire tournament with 15 wickets at 18.73 apiece and also the leading catcher, with eight catches. Raju, Prasad and Srinath were tied in tenth spot with eight wickets each.
The Indian Squad of the 1996 World Cup comprised:
India used Srinath and Prasad in each game as opening pace bowlers, with Kumble as the spinner. Depending on the pitch conditions, Raju was used four times as a second spinner, whilst Ankola and Kapoor played in the other matches as a spinner. Mongia, Tendulkar, Azharuddin, Kambli and Jadeja played in all matches, whilst Manjrekar, Sidhu and Prabhakar contested two positions in the team, with Prabhakar used as a fifth pace option.
was one in which India were not expected to perform too well. Despite having the likes of Sachin Tendulkar
, Sourav Ganguly
and Rahul Dravid
, they weren't having too much of a good run. India was placed in Group A in the pool rounds against South Africa
, Zimbabwe, hosts England
, reigning champions Sri Lanka
and minnows Kenya
.
India opened up with a close loss to South Africa in the final overs of the match. Although South Africa won by 4 wickets, the match was not without drama as South Africa had to score had approximately a run a ball in the last 10 overs. The match featured a good performance from Sourav Ganguly
(97 from 142 balls, 11 fours, 1 six) and Rahul Dravid
(54 from 75 balls, 5 fours). None of the bowlers backed up the batting performance however, with Javagal Srinath
the leading wicket-taker despite being very expensive. South Africa scored runs more quickly than India did, with Jacques Kallis
(96 from 128 balls) leading the way. India then appeared to have lost all form as they lost to Zimbabwe in a 3-run thriller. India were without the services of Sachin Tendulkar
in this match as the star batsman flew to India after his father's death.The tailenders embarrassed supporters as India, chasing 252, went from 7/246 to all out for 249 with 3 overs left.
India made up for their early losses with a very convincing win over Kenya by 94 runs. India scored 2/329 through centuries from Sachin Tendulkar
's ferocious ton (140 from 101 balls, 16 fours, 3 sixes) who rejoined the team and Rahul Dravid
(104 from 109 balls, 10 fours), also near a run a ball. The pair scored 237 in 29 overs at a run rate of 8.17 before Mohanty wiped up the Kenyan batsmen with a 4-wicket-haul. They followed on with a record win against Sri Lanka by 157 runs. Sourav Ganguly
(183 from 158 balls, 17 fours, 7 sixes) and Rahul Dravid
(145 from 129 balls, 17 fours, 1 six) picked up two centuries at over a run a ball to get India to a total of 6/373, sharing a partnership of 318 runs in 44.9 overs. Sri Lanka were then rattled through a 5-wicket haul from Robin Singh
(5/31 in 9.3 overs). They went on to seal a place in the Super Six competition with a win against home side England by 63 runs; once again Sourav Ganguly
(40 from 59 balls, 6 fours) and Rahul Dravid
(53 from 82 balls, 6 fours) starred with the bat, while a strong team effort with the ball got England all out for just 169.
India entered the Super Sixes segment as the team that came second in Pool A. Their strong performances in the Pool Stage did not give them a point boost going into the next segment, as they had taken losses to both of the other teams that had advanced through to the next stage from Pool A. They began badly through a loss against Australia
by 77 runs, with only Ajay Jadeja (100 from 138 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) and Robin Singh (75 from 94 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes) putting up any resistance. They then continued their now extremely strong record against Pakistan in World Cup's with yet another convincing victory over their long-term rivals; the win was by 47 runs. Rahul Dravid
(61 from 89 balls, 4 fours) and Mohammed Azharuddin (59 from 77 balls, 3 fours, 1 six), led the way as India posted a total of 227 (6 wickets, 50 overs). Venkatesh Prasad
then wiped up the Pakistani batsmen, taking 5 wickets for 27 runs as Pakistan was bowled all out for 180 (all out, 45.3 overs). The match was even more significant than usual as the two nations were at war with each other (see 1999 Kargil Conflict). As events between the other teams unfolded, India were eliminated from the tournament, to India, the last match of the tournament against New Zealand
was a dead rubber. In the end India lost the thriller by 5 wickets, as New Zealand achieved the target of 252 with just 8 balls to spare, despite a strong performance from Ajay Jadeja
(76 from 103 balls, 6 fours, 2 six).
Despite being eliminated and being forced to play a dead rubber there were some plus-points for the Indian team leaving the world cup. The consistency and effectiveness of batting trio: Sachin Tendulkar
, Rahul Dravid
and Sourav Ganguly
was yet to be fully experienced. Despite not making the semi-finals, Rahul Dravid
, being involved in two mammoth partnerships, was the leading run-scorer of the entire tournament with 461 runs at 65.85. The top 3 highest scores of the tournament were that of Indians, with Sourav Ganguly's
183, Rahul Dravid's
145 and Sachin Tendulkar's
140* higher than any other scores in the tournament.
The Indian Squad for the 1999 World Cup comprised:
, Rahul Dravid
and Sourav Ganguly
, now accompanied by rising talents Yuvraj Singh
, Mohammed Kaif
and Virender Sehwag
. India were placed in Group A, accompanied by Holland, Australia
, Zimbabwe, Namibia, England
and rivals Pakistan. The Top 3 in the pool would advance to the Super Six section of the tournament.
India had a horrid beginning to the tournament, their first match was against minnows Holland, who tumbled the Indian batsmen out for just 204 (all out, 48.5 overs, 206 minutes), with only Sachin Tendulkar
(52 from 72 balls, 7 fours) putting up resistance, although Javagal Srinath
and Anil Kumble
reverted the damage with 4 wickets each and India ended up winning by 68 runs, the unconvincing victory setting the stage for immense criticism. The next match on India's list was against world champions Australia. The Indian team, batting first, was steadily making progress at 1/41 when disaster struck, Virender Sehwag's
wicket triggered a middle order collapse that left India struggling at 5/50 having lost 4 wickets for 9 runs. Sachin Tendulkar
and Harbhajan Singh
offered some resistance but the damage was done as India were out for 125 (all out, 41.4 overs, 176 minutes). Australia scored the target in 22.2 overs, only losing one wicket. The Indian performances in the first two matches triggered uproar within India
, player effigies were said to be burnt on streets and the Board of Control for Cricket in India
was under immense pressure to reshuffle the team at the end of the World Cup.
This reaction at home may have triggered the Indian performances in the remainder of the World Cup. India moved onto their third match (against Zimbabwe), lacking confidence. Sachin Tendulkar
(81 from 91 balls, 10 fours) took India to 255 (7 wickets, 50 overs) and 3 wickets from Sourav Ganguly
set the stage for a strong 83 run win by the Indians. This was followed by a 181 run thrashing handed out to minnows Namibia. Sachin Tendulkar
(152 from 151 balls, 18 fours) scored a century and Sourav Ganguly
(112 from 119 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes)* another century in a second-wicket partnership of 244 runs in 39.5 overs to take India to 311 (2 wickets, 50 overs, 207 minutes). Namibia were then all out for 130 (all out, 42.3 overs, 163 minutes) thanks to 4 wickets from part-timer Yuvraj Singh
. The man of the match was Sachin Tendulkar
in both matches.
India finished off the Pool Stage with an 82 run victory over England and a 6 wicket victory over Pakistan. Ashish Nehra
achieved 6/23 against England to help India defend 250 as England were all out for 168. The Indian batting was bolstered by 50s from Sachin Tendulkar
and Yuvraj Singh
. The match against Pakistan was considered one in which Sachin Tendulkar
offered his best. Chasing 274, Tendulkar (98 from 75 balls, 12 fours, 1 six) pulled off a near century to guide India to an unlikely victory. Tendulkar was once again awarded Man of the Match.
India were untroubled in the Super Six stage and continued their streak of strong performances with three wins out of three matches. The wins were comfortable, beating Kenya by 6 wickets through a century from Sourav Ganguly
(107 from 120 balls, 11 fours, 2 sixes); beating Sri Lanka by 183 runs thanks to 97 from 120 balls from Sachin Tendulkar
, 66 from 76 balls, from Virender Sehwag
and 4/35 from Javagal Srinath
. This match was particularly infamous from a Sri Lankan point of view because there were five Sri Lankan batsmen that got out for 'ducks', or without scoring a single run. The last win was against New Zealand; after Zaheer Khan
helped get the New Zealanders out for 146, Mohammed Kaif
brought India home to a comfortable 7 wicket victory.
This brought India into the semi-finals against overperforming minnows Kenya
. The match was not dramatic. Sachin Tendulkar
(83 from 101 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) and Sourav Ganguly
(111 from 114 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) took India to 4/270. From where a combined bowling effort from 7 bowlers got Kenya all out for 179. This brought India into the all-important World Cup grand final with Australia
, but Australia dominated from the very start, achieving 105 runs in 14 overs before losing a single wicket. Ricky Ponting
(140 from 121 balls), and Damien Martyn
(88 from 84 balls) took Australia to an Australian record 359 (2 wickets, 50 overs), a record that would not be beaten until 2006, while scoring at the rate of 7.18 runs per over. India never stood a chance after Sachin Tendulkar
lost his wicket for just 4. Virender Sehwag
(82 from 81 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) and Rahul Dravid
(47 from 57 balls, 2 fours) shared a partnership of 88 runs in 13.2 overs, bringing India to 3/147. With India scoring at 5.96 runs an over, the batsmen were scoring fluently, but India's wickets were falling too quickly. India lost their last 7 wickets for only 87 runs to score 234 (all out, 39.2 overs).
There were a huge amount of bright sides in this tournament for India. Firstly, Man of the Tournament Sachin Tendulkar
had outperformed every other cricketer in the world cup and had reclaimed his status as one of the best batsmen in the history of world cricket. Tendulkar was leading run scorer with 673 runs, followed by fellow Indian Sourav Ganguly
who was 208 runs behind in second. Tendulkar's 152 against Namibia was the second highest score of the tournament and he achieved an average of 61.18. There were upsides in the bowling department as well with Zaheer Khan
4th on the wicket takers list. Finally, India as a team had achieved a streak beaten only by Australia; they lost only two matches in the entire World Cup, both of those being by large margins to champions Australia.
The Indian Squad that were the Runners-up of the 2003 World Cup comprised:
India
, this time had gone to the West Indies with 2 convincing home series wins against West Indies and Sri Lanka
.
For the 2007 tournament, India had what was considered a decent World Cup squad, as it had three batsmen who had scored more than 10,000 ODI runs (Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid), world class spin bowling in the form of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and a decent pace bowling attack.
They were pitted against Bangladesh
, Sri Lanka and World Cup debutants Bermuda
in Group B.
India's World Cup campaign started disastrously, as they lost to Bangladesh in the opener, leaving them with two must-win matches in their group. All Indian batsmen, barring Yuvraj Singh
(47) , faltered against the pace of Mashrafe Mortaza
and the left arm spin of Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique
.
India next scored 413 against Bermuda, the highest score by India in one-day cricket and the highest team total in a World Cup game. Virender Sehwag
, who was selected in the team only at captain Rahul Dravid
's insistence, rediscovered his form with 114. Yuvraj Singh
and Sachin Tendulkar
destroyed the amateur Bermudan bowling, with innings of 83 and 57 respectively. India won the game by 257 runs, and this left them to beat tournament favorites Sri Lanka. Due to their loss to Bangladesh, India's presence in the tournament depended on them defeating Sri Lanka.
At the Queen's Park Oval at Trinidad, on 23 March, the Indian pace bowlers made early inroads, dismissing the danger men, Sanath Jayasuriya
, Mahela Jayawardene
and Kumar Sangakkara
early. Upul Tharanga
and Chamara Silva
consolidated, making half centuries each and the Sri Lankan innings ended for 254 for the loss of 6 wickets.
The Indians batting crumbled against the Sri Lankan bowling attack, with only Dravid and Sehwag showing some resistance. Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
fell for ducks, and Yuvraj was run out for 6. Muttiah Muralitharan
took 3 wickets, winning him the Man of the Match award. India were all out for only 185, considered surprising given India's batting strength and the batting-friendly nature of the Queen's Park Oval. With one victory and two losses, India were hence knocked out of the World Cup. Bangladesh's win over Bermuda cemented India's exit. It was also the first time since 1992 that the Indian cricket team failed to progress to the latter stages of the tournament.
After the debacle, embattled coach Greg Chappell
resigned after reports that the senior players were not happy with him. However Dravid retained his captaincy. There were several attacks on players homes and protests by infuriated fans, especially in Bangalore
and Mumbai
.
The 2007 Indian world cup team comprised:
The Indian team was generally considered to be the strongest batting side in the tournament. Openers Virender Sehwag
and Sachin Tendulkar
anchored a star-studded batting lineup, followed by the talented Gautam Gambhir
, rising star Virat Kohli
, and the explosive Yuvraj Singh
, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
and all-rounder Suresh Raina batted in at the No. 5 and 6 spots, respectively. While the bowling attack was considered more suspect, two veterans in paceman Zaheer Khan
and offspinner Harbhajan Singh
were joined by newcomers Munaf Patel
, Ashish Nehra
, Piyush Chawla
, Ravichandran Ashwin
, and Shantakumaran Sreesanth.
India’s 2011 World Cup campaign started with an 87-run win against an overmatched Bangladesh squad in Dhaka
. Behind centuries from Virender Sehwag (175 from 140 balls, 14 fours, 5 sixes) and Virat Kohli (100 n.o. from 83 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) India scored 4/370. Munaf Patel (4-48) took 4 wickets during the Bangladesh reply, including that of opener Tamim Iqbal
(70 from 86 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) as Bangladesh scored 9/283 in 50 overs to fall short.
India next played England at Bangalore
. On a batting-friendly track at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
, India chose to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar (120 from 115 balls, 10 fours, 5 sixes) lashed his way through the English attack, ably supported by Gautam Gambhir (51 from 61 balls, 5 fours) and Yuvraj Singh (58 from 50 balls, 9 fours). After the 45th over, India was 3/305 and were looking to pass 350 during the batting Powerplay. Instead, English bowler Tim Bresnan
(5-48) engineered a collapse with four quick wickets in 16 deliveries, as India slumped to a still-formidable total of 338 all out. England started their run chase by blasting 77 runs off the first 10 overs. Andrew Strauss
(158 from 145 balls, 18 fours, 1 six) decimated the Indian bowling attack with unparalleled ferocity, and was supported by Ian Bell (69 from 71 balls, 4 fours, 1 six). At 2/280 in the 43rd over, England was cruising to an extraordinary victory. However, Zaheer Khan responded by taking the wickets of Strauss, Bell, and Paul Collingwood
in 11 deliveries, as England were reduced to 6/289. Tailenders Tim Bresnan , Graeme Swann
, and Ajmal Shahzad
each hit massive sixes in the final few overs to regain some momentum, and Swann scored 13 runs off the final over to salvage a tie with India (8/338 in 50 overs). It was only the fourth tied match in World Cup history.
In their third group match, India defeated minnows Ireland by 5 wickets. After winning the toss and choosing to field, India’s bowling attack proved superior to the Irish batting lineup. Yuvraj Singh (5-31 in 10 overs) was the chief destroyer, taking five successive wickets – including the top scorer for Ireland, William Porterfield
(75 from 104 balls, 6 fours, 1 six). Ireland was eventually bowled all out for 207. During their reply, India slumped to 4/100, as the batting lineup struggled to cope with the tight and accurate Irish bowling. Once again, however, Yuvraj Singh (50 n.o. from 75 balls, 3 fours) helped the Indian side with an unbeaten half-century, and guided his nation to a five-wicket victory.
India’s fourth match was against the Netherlands, at Feroz Shah Kotla
. After choosing to bat first, Netherlands was restricted to 189 all out, with Zaheer Khan (3-20) and Yuvraj Singh (2-43) doing most of the damage. Despite Virender Sehwag’s blistering start, India’s run-chase started out poorly, as they slumped to 4/99. And, once again, it was Yuvraj Singh (51 from 73 balls, 7 fours) who guided India to victory in a crucial 5th-wicket stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni
.
India’s next group match was against South Africa
in Nagpur
. After choosing to bat first, India raced to 1/267 in 39.3 overs behind the power hitting of Virender Sehwag (73 from 66 balls, 12 fours), Tendulkar (111 from 101 balls, 8 fours, 3 sixes), and Gautam Gambhir (69 from 75 balls, 7 fours). However, India lost their last 9 wickets for 29 runs in a massive collapse, slumping to 296 all out. Hashim Amla
(61 from 72 balls, 5 fours) and Jacques Kallis
(69 from 88 balls, 4 fours) top-scored in the reply, as South Africa chased down the total with only 3 wickets and 2 deliveries to spare. AB de Villiers (52 from 39 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) scored a quick half-century to keep South Africa ahead of the required run rate. It was India’s first loss in their World Cup campaign.
India’s final group match was against the West Indies in Chennai
. India chose to bat first. Yuvraj Singh (113 from 123 balls, 10 fours, 2 sixes) and Virat Kohli (59 from 76 balls, 5 fours) batted well but received little support from the rest of the lineup, as India were all out for 268. With Devon Smith
(81 from 97 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) leading the way, the West Indies reached 2/154 before losing their last 8 wickets for 34 runs, allowing India to coast to an 80-run victory. With this victory, India reached the quarterfinals and finished second in Group B.
In the quarterfinals, India faced defending champions Australia in Ahmedabad
. Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. Captain Ricky Ponting
(104 from 118 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) and Brad Haddin (53 from 62 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) scored fluently, but Ravi Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, and Yuvraj Singh took wickets at regular intervals to restrict Australia to 6/250 in 50 overs. Tendulkar (53 from 68 balls, 7 fours) Gambhir (50 from 64 balls, 2 fours) and Yuvraj Singh (57 n.o. from 65 balls, 8 fours) all scored half-centuries in the reply, as India chased down the target with 5 wickets and 14 deliveries to spare.
India next played arch-rival Pakistan in the semifinals. India won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite Sehwag’s customary fast start (38 from 25 balls, 9 fours), the India batsmen had trouble coping with the Pakistani bowling attack. Wahab Riaz
(5-46) took a 5-wicket haul for Pakistan, and Tendulkar (85 from 115 balls, 11 fours) top-scored for India despite being dropped four times in the field. With India slumping at 5/187, Suresh Raina (36 from 39 balls, 3 fours) shored up the tail as India reached 9/260 in 50 overs. All five Indian bowlers took two wickets in the Pakistani reply, as Pakistan fell behind the run rate and were bowled all out for 231 with 1 delivery remaining. Misbah-ul-Haq
(56 from 76 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) top scored for Pakistan, but his slow start allowed the required run-rate to balloon beyond Pakistan’s reach.
This set up an India-Sri Lanka matchup for the final, held at Wankhede Stadium. On a batting-friendly pitch, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. Zaheer Khan (2-60), using the new ball, bowled three maiden overs and took the wicket of Upul Tharanga
to leave Sri Lanka at 1/31 after 10 overs – their lowest 10-over score in the tournament. However, Mahela Jayawardene
(103 from 88 balls, 13 fours) rebuilt the Sri Lankan innings with a superb century, helped by captain Kumar Sangakkara
(48 from 67 balls, 5 fours). Nuwan Kulasekara
(32 from 30 balls, 1 four, 1 six) and Thisara Perera (22 from 9 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) plundered 91 runs from the last 10 overs, lifting Sri Lanka to a formidable total of 6/274 after 50 overs.
India’s run chase began badly, as Sehwag and Tendulkar were bowled cheaply by Lasith Malinga (2-42) to leave India at 2/31 from 6.1 overs. However, Gautam Gambhir rebuilt the Indian innings with an 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Virat Kohli (35 from 49 balls, 4 fours). After Kohli was caught and bowled to leave India at 3/114, Gambhir (97 from 122 balls, 9 fours) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91 n.o. from 79 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) scored 109 runs for the fourth wicket, in a vicious attack on the tiring Sri Lankan bowlers. After Gambhir played on, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni carried India to the required total, with Dhoni blasting a massive six off the final delivery. India would win the match by six wickets. Dhoni was named Man of the Match
for his assault on the Sri Lankan bowling attack. With the win, India secured their first World Cup finals victory since 1983.
There were a huge number of positives for the Indian side in the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar
scored 482 runs, and was the second-highest run scorer in the tournament after Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan
. Zaheer Khan
took 21 wickets, and was the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup along with Shahid Afridi. Yuvraj Singh
, who scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets, was named Man of the Tournament.
The 2011 Indian world cup team comprised:
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
are the current world cup champions. In addition to winning the 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
on home soil, they won the 1983 Cricket World Cup
1983 Cricket World Cup
The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...
. They were also runner-up at the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
, and semifinalists in the 1996 Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
and in the 1987 Cricket World Cup
1987 Cricket World Cup
The 1987 Cricket World Cup was the fourth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in India and Pakistan — the first held outside England. The format was unchanged from 1983 except for a reduction in the number of overs a team played from 60...
.They came 6th place in the Super 6 in the 1999 World Cup and have been knocked out of the world cup 4 times in Group stage (1975, 1979, 1992 and 2007).
India at the 1975 World Cup
The 1975 Cricket World Cup was the first World Cup and comprised a number of 60-over matches. India were grouped with England, East Africa and New Zealand and played each of these teams once. In order to advance to the semi-finals they needed to place within the top 2 positions of their pool. However, the running was tough and India did not succeed, following a particularly infamous loss in their opening game.India lost their first match to hosts England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
by 202 runs after England scored 334 (4 wickets, 60 overs) in their allotted overs, with help from DL Amiss (137 from 147 balls), and KWR Fletcher (68 from 107 balls), who shared a second-wicket partnership of 176 runs. Any hopes of an Indian win were lost after some extremely controversial batting by Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
(36 from 174 balls, 1 four), who batted through the 60 overs for 36 not out as India scored 132 (3 wickets, 60 overs). This match was treated as a disgrace in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the players were faced with much criticism.
The rest of India's World Cup Campaign was less controversial; they picked up an easy 10 wicket win against minnows East Africa (through some more intelligent batting by Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
(65 from 86 balls, 9 fours) and Farokh Engineer
Farokh Engineer
Farokh Maneksha Engineer is a former Indian cricketer of Parsi background who played 46 Tests for India and played first-class cricket for Mumbai in India and Lancashire in England. Engineer's active international career started in 1961 and continued to 1975, and he was India's first-choice...
(54 from 93 balls, 7 fours)before bowing out of the tournament in a must-win match against New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. After scoring 230 all out in 60 overs, led by a half-century from Abid Ali (70 from 98 balls, 5 fours, 1 six), Glenn Turner
Glenn Turner
Glenn Maitland Turner played cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's best and most prolific batsmen. He is the current head of the New Zealand Cricket selection panel....
(114 from 177 balls, 13 fours) brought New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
home with 4 wickets and 1.1 overs remaining.
.
The Indian Squad of the 1975 World Cup comprised:
- Abid Ali
- Mohinder AmarnathMohinder AmarnathMohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
- Bishan Singh BediBishan Singh BediBishan Singh Bedi is a former Indian cricketer who was primarily a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet. He also captained the national side in 22 Test matches...
- Farokh EngineerFarokh EngineerFarokh Maneksha Engineer is a former Indian cricketer of Parsi background who played 46 Tests for India and played first-class cricket for Mumbai in India and Lancashire in England. Engineer's active international career started in 1961 and continued to 1975, and he was India's first-choice...
(wicketkeeper) - Anshuman GaekwadAnshuman GaekwadAnshuman Dattajirao Gaekwad is a former Indian cricketer and two-time Indian national cricket coach. He played in 40 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals....
- Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
- Karsan GhavriKarsan GhavriKarsan Devjibhai Ghavri is a former Indian cricketer who played in 39 Tests and 19 ODIs from 1974 to 1981. He played in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups....
- Madan LalMadan LalMadan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
- Brijesh PatelBrijesh PatelBrijesh Patel grew up in Bangalore is an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national cricket team as a right-handed batsman from 1974 until 1979....
- Eknath SolkarEknath SolkarEknath Dhondu 'Ekki' Solkar was an Indian all-round cricketer who played 27 Tests and seven One Day Internationals for his country...
- Srinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ; is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...
(captain) - Gundappa ViswanathGundappa ViswanathGundappa Rangnath Viswanath is a former Indian cricketer. He was one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. He played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983 making 91 appearances and scoring over 6000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982 including the World...
- India's record: 1−2
- West Indies's record: 5−0 (champions)
India at the 1979 World Cup
In the 1979 Cricket World Cup, India was grouped up with reigning champions the West IndiesWest Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
as well as New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, and minnows Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
. Once again, the matches were played in 60-over ODI. India got off to a bad start after their top order capitulated to a strong West Indies, with only Gundappa Viswanath (75 from 134 balls, 7 fours) putting up any resistance. They eventually lost by 9 wickets, the only wicket being that of Desmond Haynes
Desmond Haynes
Desmond Leo Haynes is a West Indian cricketer and cricket coach. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1991. Haynes formed a formidable partnership with Gordon Greenidge for the West Indies cricket team in Test cricket during 1980s. Between them they managed 16 century stands, four in excess of...
, nabbed LBW by Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
, as Gordon Greenidge (106 from 173 balls) put up an unbeaten West Indian century.
The next match practically ended their World Cup Campaign, with a 8-wicket loss at the hands of New Zealand. The match was reasonably close as India were all out for 182 with 5 overs to spare, with only Sunil Gavaskar (55 from 144 balls, 5 fours) putting up any resistance, and New Zealand had only 3 overs remaining to achieve their target. All bowlers gave little over 3 runs an over, but BA Edgar (84 from 167 balls) eventually brought New Zealand home, in a 100-run opening partnership with JG Wright. A demoralized India went into the last match against Sri Lanka as favourites, but they failed to chase down Sri Lanka's 238, losing by 47 runs. India ended their World Cup without managing to score above 200, a performance that generated renewed uproar in India.
The Indian Squad of the 1979 World Cup composed of:
- Mohinder AmarnathMohinder AmarnathMohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
- Bishan Bedi
- Kapil DevKapil DevKapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
- Anshuman GaekwadAnshuman GaekwadAnshuman Dattajirao Gaekwad is a former Indian cricketer and two-time Indian national cricket coach. He played in 40 Test matches and 15 One Day Internationals....
- Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
- Karsan GhavriKarsan GhavriKarsan Devjibhai Ghavri is a former Indian cricketer who played in 39 Tests and 19 ODIs from 1974 to 1981. He played in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups....
- Surinder KhannaSurinder KhannaSurinder Khanna is a former Indian cricketer. He played domestic cricket for Delhi and played ten One Day Internationals for India between 1979 and 1984. He was a wicketkeeper.-Domestic career:...
(wicketkeeper) - Brijesh PatelBrijesh PatelBrijesh Patel grew up in Bangalore is an Indian cricketer who played for the Indian national cricket team as a right-handed batsman from 1974 until 1979....
- Bharath ReddyBharath ReddyBharath Reddy is a former Indian cricketer.-Career:Reddy played in 4 Tests and 3 ODIs from 1978 to 1981. A wicket-keeper from Nalgonda, Reddy was not a regular player for India due to the presence of Syed Kirmani....
- Yashpal SharmaYashpal SharmaYashpal Sharma is a former Indian cricketer. He was a middle order batsman who played at the turn of the 1980s.-Early career:...
- Dilip VengsarkarDilip VengsarkarDilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
- Srinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan VenkataraghavanSrinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan ; is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel...
(captain) - Gundapp
- India's record: 0−3
- West Indies's record: 4−0 (champions, 1 match washed out)
India at the 1983 World Cup
In the 1983 Cricket World Cup, India was given a boost in that it would be able to play two matches against each of the three teams in its pool. The only minnows in the World Cup were the Zimbabwe cricket team, a team that India was grouped with. India were also grouped with the West IndiesWest Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
and Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, creating formidable matchups for a team that had become known for its inability to perform in the World Cup.
India opened up their campaign against the favourites, the West Indies. But it shocked all observers with a 34 run victory thanks to a strong performance from Yashpal Sharma
Yashpal Sharma
Yashpal Sharma is a former Indian cricketer. He was a middle order batsman who played at the turn of the 1980s.-Early career:...
(89 from 120 balls, 9 fours). India totalled up 262 in 60 overs and tumbled the West Indies out for 228, thanks to a quick 3 wickets from Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
. A confident team went on to deal out a thrashing against Zimbabwe, chasing down the total of 156 with 23 overs and 5 wickets to spare, helped by a half-century from Sandeep Patil
Sandeep Patil
Sandeep Madhusudan Patil is a former Indian cricketer, Indian national age group cricket manager and former Kenya national team coach, who made the minnows reach the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman and an occasional medium pace bowler...
(50 from 54 balls, 7 fours, 1 six). Madan Lal
Madan Lal
Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
was the destroyer in chief with his three wickets. However, the confidence and morale were short-lived as India was dealt out a 162 run thrashing from Australia 2 days later. India collapsed to 158 attempting to chase Australia's mammoth 320.
As India entered the second half of the group stage, they opened up with a loss against the West Indies by 66 runs. Vivian Richards (119 from 146 balls) took the West Indies to 282 in 60 overs, a score that India was unable to chase despite Mohinder Amarnath's
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
(80 from 139 balls) good innings. India's next match against Zimbabwe was to become famous for the remainder of history. The favourites, India, were 5-17 by an emerging Zimbabwe bowling lineup. A defeat would have made qualifying for the semifinal impossible, but Kapil Dev's
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
(175 from 138 balls, 16 fours, 6 sixes)* famous innings took India to 266 (he combined with Syed Kirmani
Syed Kirmani
Padma Sri Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani played cricket for India and Karnataka as a wicket-keeper.-International career:...
(24 from 56 balls, 2 fours) in a 126 run 9th wicket partnership). The Zimbabwe batsmen got starts but were once again hampered by Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
and Madan Lal
Madan Lal
Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
who got 4 wickets between them. India ended up winning by 31 runs. However, the last match against Australia was still a must win. But India made light work, winning by 118 runs thanks to 4-wicket hauls by Madan Lal
Madan Lal
Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
and Roger Binny
Roger Binny
Roger Michael Humphrey Binny is an Indian former cricket all-rounder who is best known for his impressive bowling performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup where he was the highest wicket-taker , and in the 1985 World Series Cricket Championship in Australia where he repeated this feat .Binny...
.
India's semi-final match against England contained no drama. India coasting to a 6 wicket victory. The major contributors were Yashpal Sharma
Yashpal Sharma
Yashpal Sharma is a former Indian cricketer. He was a middle order batsman who played at the turn of the 1980s.-Early career:...
(61 from 115 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes), Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
(46 from 92 balls, 4 fours, 1 six), and Sandeep Patil (51 from 32 balls, 8 fours) with the bat. Kapil Dev picked up 3-35 to seal a victory that took India to the World Cup final. The final was considered somewhat of an anticlimax, most expecting a clear West Indies win although India had beaten them in the preliminary rounds. The West Indies tumbled India out for 183, with Kris Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) top scoring, and were cruising on their way to a memorable victory at 2-57, with Vivian Richards (33 from 28 balls) at the head before suffering a major collapse. They were annihilated by the Indian bowlers and reached 6-76 before providing some sort of resistance. They were all out for 140, India won by 43 runs. The heroes of the day were Mohinder Amarnath (3/12 and 26) and Kris Srikkanth (top scorer with 38).
The Indian Squad that won the 1983 World Cup comprised:
- Mohinder AmarnathMohinder AmarnathMohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
- Kirti AzadKirti AzadKirtivardhan Bhagwat Jha Azad is a former Indian cricketer who played in seven Tests and 25 ODIs from 1980 to 1986. He attended Modern School in Delhi where he was part of the school cricket team. The highlight of his career was being part of the Indian team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
- Roger BinnyRoger BinnyRoger Michael Humphrey Binny is an Indian former cricket all-rounder who is best known for his impressive bowling performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup where he was the highest wicket-taker , and in the 1985 World Series Cricket Championship in Australia where he repeated this feat .Binny...
- Kapil DevKapil DevKapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
(captain) - Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
- Syed KirmaniSyed KirmaniPadma Sri Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani played cricket for India and Karnataka as a wicket-keeper.-International career:...
(wicketkeeper) - Madan LalMadan LalMadan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
- Sandeep PatilSandeep PatilSandeep Madhusudan Patil is a former Indian cricketer, Indian national age group cricket manager and former Kenya national team coach, who made the minnows reach the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup. He was a hard-hitting middle order batsman and an occasional medium pace bowler...
- Balwinder SandhuBalwinder SandhuBalwinder Singh Sandhu is a former Indian Test cricketer. He represented India in eight Test matches as a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball and was a useful batsman....
- Yashpal SharmaYashpal SharmaYashpal Sharma is a former Indian cricketer. He was a middle order batsman who played at the turn of the 1980s.-Early career:...
- Ravi ShastriRavi ShastriRavishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
- Kris Srikkanth
- Sunil ValsonSunil ValsonSunil Valson is a former Indian cricketer who was selected for the 1983 Cricket World Cup but never received a chance to play in the tournament...
- Dilip VengsarkarDilip VengsarkarDilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
India's record: 6−2 (champions)
India at the 1987 World Cup
India was the host of the 1987 Cricket World Cup and was expected to perform seeing as it was the reigning champions. It was grouped in Pool A with AustraliaAustralian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
and Zimbabwe. The matches had been reduced to 50 overs to accommodate for the number of daylight hours on the Indian subcontinent
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. India's start to the tournament was bright, as it topped the pool, getting 5 wins and only 1 loss, this loss being by only 1 run. It carried this out despite the fact that it lacked the likes of its past World Cup heroes: Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath
Mohinder Amarnath Bhardwaj is a former Indian cricketer and current cricket analyst. He is commonly known as "Jimmy". He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the first post-independence captain of India. His brother Surinder Amarnath was a Test player...
and Madan Lal
Madan Lal
Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...
, India's team was still captained by Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
and featured veterans like Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
.
The first match of the tournament for India was arguably the most eventful one. Australia won the match by just 1 run, after piling up 270 in their first innings, helped by a century from Geoff Marsh (110 from 141 balls). India began their innings brightly and were cruising at 2-207 before Navjot Sidhu (73 from 79 balls, 4 fours, 5 sixes) fell. This was followed by a spectacular middle order and tailend collapse that made India lost their last 8 wickets for just 62 runs. India were all out for 269 with one ball remaining in the match, leaving the possibility of a tie or victory within their grasp. The performance was heartening, however, because of the strong batting of Kris Srikkanth (70 from 83 balls, 7 fours) and Navjot Sidhu.
The second match against New Zealand was dramatic too, with Navjot Sidhu (75 from 71 balls, 4 fours, 4 sixes) once again rescuing India after India had fallen to 3/21, and Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
(72 from 58 balls, 4 fours, 1 six)*, cutting loose brilliantly in the later half of the innings, taking India to 252. India eventually pulled off a 16-run victory thanks to some economical bowling from Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri
Ravishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
and Mohammed Azharuddin. The rest of the group stage were smooth runnings for India, getting Zimbabwe all out for 135 and then beating them by 8 wickets in the third match. India beat Australia in the third match by 56 runs after India totalled up 289 (6 wickets, 50 overs), with Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
(63 from 60 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes), Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
(61 from 72 balls, 7 fours), Mohammed Azharuddin (54 from 45 balls, 5 fours, 1 six)* and Navjot Sidhu (51 from 70 balls, 2 fours) all scoring half-centuries, and a 7 wicket win over Zimbabwe, with Navjot Sidhu (55 from 61 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) never failing to score 40 in a memorable World Cup campaign. India sealed up the Group Stage with a 9-wicket thrashing of New Zealand, as their batsmen chased down 221 with 18 overs and 9 wickets to spare, thanks to a 136-run opening partnership between Kris Srikkanth (75 from 58 balls, 9 fours, 3 sixes), and Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
(103 from 88 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes)*.
India went into the semi-finals facing the mouth-watering prospect of facing arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. But to the horror of fans, their world cup campaign ended in the Semis against England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
bowled strongly as England managed to put up 254 in the first innings, helped by strong performances from Graham Gooch (115 from 136 balls, 11 fours) and captain Mike Gatting (56 from 62 balls, 5 fours). But India was pushed out of contention as Navjot Sidhu and Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
failed. A strong performance from Mohammed Azharuddin (64 from 74 balls, 7 fours) pulled India within reach of the target, but the tail failed to capitalize, India losing by 35 runs with 5 overs to spare.
The Indian Squad of the 1987 World Cup comprised:
- Mohammed Azharuddin
- Roger BinnyRoger BinnyRoger Michael Humphrey Binny is an Indian former cricket all-rounder who is best known for his impressive bowling performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup where he was the highest wicket-taker , and in the 1985 World Series Cricket Championship in Australia where he repeated this feat .Binny...
- Kapil DevKapil DevKapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
(captain) - Sunil GavaskarSunil GavaskarSunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
- Kiran MoreKiran MoreKiran Shankar Murat More was the wicket-keeper for the Indian cricket team from 1984 to 1993. He was the Chairman of the Selection Committee of the BCCI till Dilip Vengsarkar took over the job in 2006. He is presently working with Indian Cricket League.-Early career:More played for the India...
(wicketkeeper) - Chandrakant PanditChandrakant PanditChandrakant Sitaram Pandit is a former Indian cricketer who played in 5 Tests and 36 ODIs from 1986 to 1992. After his retirement as a player, Pandit became a cricket coach, enjoying successful stints with the Mumbai cricket team.In the 1980s he was given the status of second wicketkeeper behind...
- Manoj PrabhakarManoj PrabhakarManoj Prabhakar is a former Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a lower-order batsman who also opened the innings sometimes for the Indian cricket team until his retirement in 1995–96. He was banned by the BCCI for his involvement in match fixing scandals...
- Chetan SharmaChetan SharmaChetan Sharma was a medium pace bowler who represented India at cricket.Sharma was coached by Desh Prem Azad, a Dronacharya Award winner, who was also the mentor of Kapil Dev...
- Ravi ShastriRavi ShastriRavishankar Jayadritha Shastri is a former Indian cricketer and captain. He was an all–rounder who batted right-handed and bowled left arm spin. His international career started when he was 18 years old and lasted for 12 years...
- Maninder SinghManinder SinghManinder Singh is a former international cricket player who represented India in 35 Test matches and 59 One Day Internationals. With his slow left-arm orthodox spin, Maninder was considered as an heir to Bishan Singh Bedi, who then held the record as India's leading spinner in terms of wickets....
- Navjot Singh SidhuNavjot Singh SidhuNavjot Singh Sidhu is former Indian cricket star . After retirement from cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, and politics. He was later forced to resign from his political position because he was convicted of homicide.-Biography:...
- Laxman SivaramakrishnanLaxman SivaramakrishnanLaxman Sivaramakrishnan , popularly known as Siva and LS, is a former Indian cricketer. He was a right arm leg-spinner. He is now a commentator.-Early days:...
- Kris Srikkanth
- Dilip VengsarkarDilip VengsarkarDilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
- India's record: 5−2 (semifinalist)
- Australia's record: 7−1 (champions)
India at the 1992 World Cup
India began badly, losing to England by nine runs. Their second match against Sri Lanka was abandoned due to rain and Australia sneaked home in their third match by only 1 run, despite a strong batting performance from Mohammed Azharuddin (93 off 103 balls). Their first win of the tournament came in the next match against rivals Pakistan in which Sachin Tendulkar top-scored (54 runs,62 balls, 3 fours) and Kapil, Srinath and Prabhakar bowling well took 3 wickets each, followed by a win against minnows Zimbabwe, the win was by a commanding 55 runs, with Sachin Tendulkar (81 from 77 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) leading the way. India was practically knocked out of the tournament in the next match through its loss to the West Indies by 5 wickets. It went on to lose to New Zealand and South Africa. It only won 2 of its 8 matches, knocking it firmly out of contention for the semi-finals. India ended seventh on the table, above only Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
and Zimbabwe.
Even the general player performances were at best, lacklustre, Mohammed Azharuddin was the leading batsman, scoring 332 runs in 7 matches without a century included. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
scored 283 runs in 7 innings that included 3 fifties. Tendulkar also ended up with a strike rate of 83.98, 6th in the tournament. The highest batting strike rate in the tournament was that of Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...
, who carried a strike rate of 124.81.
The Indian Squad of the 1992 World Cup comprised:
- India's record: 2−5 (1 drawn match)
- Pakistan's record: 6−3 (champions, 1 drawn match)
India at the 1996 World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council . It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka...
along with Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and were expected to perform well at home. Changes in format included the re-use of a group format, in which there were two pools of six, after which the top four from each group prgogressed to the quarter-finals. India was placed in Group A with Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
, West Indies and Zimbabwe. With the West Indies beginning to lose their grip on ODI cricket and with the inclusion of two minnows in their group, India were expected to cruise into the quarter-finals.
India started their World cup campaign well with beating Kenya, first restricting them to 199/6, Kumble taking 3/28 and then chasing it down easily to win by 7 wickets with Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant century (127 from 138 balls, 15 fours, 1 six).India played the next match against West Indies to whom they bowled all out at 173 with Kumble again capturing 3/35 and Sachin Tendulkar (70 runs, 91 balls, 8 fours) again handily cruised India to victory.
India then faced tournament favourites Australia in Bombay, and the tourists batted first after winning the toss. Mark Waugh
Mark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
(126 from 135 balls) and Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor (cricketer)
Mark Anthony Taylor, AO is a former Australian cricket player and Test opening batsman from 1988–1999, as well as captain from 1994–1999, succeeding Allan Border...
(59 from 73 balls) set the foundation with a 103 run opening stand, and Australia reached 3/232 before Waugh was dismissed for 126. Australia suffered five run-outs, four in the last ten overs whilst chasing quick runs, with Venkatesh Prasad
Venkatesh Prasad
Bapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad is a former Indian cricketer. He is the bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, having formerly performed the same role for the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2009. He made his debut in 1996...
and Raju taking two wickets each. India's chase started poorly, with Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja
Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in royal rajput family of Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were overshadowed by a 5 year ban for...
and Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli
Vinod Ganpat Kambli is a former Indian cricketer, who played for India as a middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa.He is childhood friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar...
dismissed by Damien Fleming
Damien Fleming
Damien William Fleming is a former Australian cricketer who played in 20 Tests and 88 ODIs from 1994 to 2001....
with only seven runs scored. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(90 from 84 balls, 14 fours, 1 six) counter-attacked ferociously, and India were well ahead of the required run rate at 3/143 when he charged a wide from Mark Waugh
Mark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
and was stumped for 90. From there onward, the run chase began to falter, with only Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer. He has a batting average of 37.14 in his 37 Tests between 1987/88 and 1996/97, as opposed to an overall first-class average of 55...
managing 62 from 91 balls, resulting in a 16 run loss, dismissed for 242 in the 48th over.
India then faced Sri Lanka in a batsman dominated match in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
. Sachin Tendulkar (137 from 137 balls, 8 fours, 5 sixes) blasted another fantastic run-a-ball century (137 from 137 balls, 8fours, 5 sixes) and captain Mohammed Azharuddin made 72 from 80 balls in a 175 run partnership as India compiled 3/271. However, the opening pair of Romesh Kaluwitharana
Romesh Kaluwitharana
Romesh Shantha Kaluwitharana is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in 49 Test and 189 ODIs from 1990 to 2004...
and Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
launched Sri Lanka to 42 after just three overs. Jayasuriya managed to score 79 from 77 balls, leaving the score at 4/141. With the run-rate under control, Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga is a retired Sri Lankan cricketer and politician. He was the captain of Sri Lankan cricket team, and led them to an unbeaten title-winning campaign at the 1996 Cricket World Cup...
(46*) and Hashan Tillakaratne
Hashan Tillakaratne
Hashan Prasantha Tillakaratne is a Sri Lankan cricketer and a politician.-Cricket career:As a schoolboy in 1986, he was selected to play against England B at Galle, scoring a century to save the match. He played in his first One Day International in November 1986, and emerged into the Sri Lankan...
(70*) made a 131 run partnership to steer them to a six wicket win with eight balls remaining. Kumble led the bowling with 2/39 whilst Prabhakar was punished for 47 runs in four overs.
India ended the group stage against Zimbabwe in Kanpur, who won the toss and sent the Indians in to bat. After slumping to 3/32, Sidhu (80 from 116 balls, 5 fours) and Vinod Kambli
Vinod Kambli
Vinod Ganpat Kambli is a former Indian cricketer, who played for India as a middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa.He is childhood friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar...
(106 from 110 balls, 11 fours) put on 142 runs before Jadeja finished off the innings with 44* from 27 balls to total 5/247. The Zimbabweans lost wickets at regular intervals and fell 40 runs short, with Raju taking 3/30 and Kumble, Srinath and Jadeja two each.
India's third placing in the group left them with a quarter final matchup against arch rivals Pakistan, who had finished second in their group at Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. The match had a huge leadup, and Pakistani captain Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
withdrew due to injury. India elected to bat after winning the toss, with Navjot Sidhu (93 from 115 balls, 11 fours) and Tendulkar reaching 90 before the fall of Tendulkar. Sidhu went on to fall just short of a century, and although wickets fell regularly, the Indians continued to score quickly, with Jadeja scoring a rapid 45 from 25 balls in the final overs, including 40 from Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time...
' last two overs. Prasad and Kumble then took three wickets each to keep Pakistan to 248 to complete a memorable victory. This resulted in widespread disappointment in Pakistan, leading to a government inquiry, crowd demonstrations outside players' homes and the suicide of one distraught fan.
India were faced Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens
Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity...
in Calcutta and sent Sri Lanka in to bat first. Both Kaluwitharana and Jayasuriya were dismissed in Srinath's first over, uppercutting wide balls down to third man. Srinath then removed Asanka Gurusinha
Asanka Gurusinha
Asanka Pradeep Gurusinha is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who enjoyed an 11-year international career, playing 41 Tests and 147 One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka. He was a specialist batsman who helped win the 1996 World Cup final with 65 in a partnership of 125 with the final's Man of the...
to leave the score at 3/35. However half centuries from Aravinda de Silva
Aravinda de Silva
Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who is considered one of the finest batsmen produced by the country.He is also regarded as one of the most elegant batsman in his generation, and to date is the only player to make a hundred and take 3 or more wickets in a world cup...
(66 from 47 balls) and Roshan Mahanama
Roshan Mahanama
Roshan Siriwardene Mahanama is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and currently an ICC match referee.Although he averaged less than 30 at Test cricket, he did score four centuries, including a top score of 225 for the Sri Lankan cricket team against India at Colombo, where he shared a then world record...
(58 from 101 balls) helped Sri Lanka to a total of 8/251. India made a solid start, with Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(65 from 88 balls, 9 fours) scoring a half-century and taking India to 1/98. However, the pitch began to crumble and take more spin, and when Tendulkar was stumped, the incoming batsmen were unable to cope with the four pronged spin-attack of Jayasuriya (3/12), de Silva, Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
and Kumar Dharmasena
Kumar Dharmasena
Kumar Dharmasena is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and current Umpire. He was a member of World Cup Winning Cricket Team 1996 for Sri Lanka. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler...
, who took 6 wickets as India lost 7/22 to slump to 8/120. At this point, sections of the crowd began setting fire to the stands and throwing missiles onto the field. Play was stopped as the crowd's anger began to develop into a dangerous riot. Umpires decided that Sri Lanka be awarded the game due to India's hopeless position, knocking them out of the World Cup.
India's campaign was higlighted by the consistency of Sachin Tendulkar, who managed 50 or more in all but two of his matches. With 523 runs at 87.16, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer in the entire World Cup, with two of his six dismissal due to run outs rather than batting errors. His 137 against Sri Lanka was the 4th highest of the entire tournament and his partnership of 175 with Azharuddin the fourth highest in the tournament. No other Indian batsmen aggregated 250 runs. India was also bolstered by the performances of Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
, who was leading wicket taker in the entire tournament with 15 wickets at 18.73 apiece and also the leading catcher, with eight catches. Raju, Prasad and Srinath were tied in tenth spot with eight wickets each.
The Indian Squad of the 1996 World Cup comprised:
- Aditya Mohapatra (Team Manager)
- Salil AnkolaSalil AnkolaSalil Ashok Ankola is a former Indian cricketer who played in one Test and 20 ODIs from 1989 to 1997. He was a member of the Indian cricket team for the 1996 Cricket World Cup....
- Sachin TendulkarSachin TendulkarSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
- Mohammed Azharuddin (captain)
- Ajay JadejaAjay JadejaAjaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in royal rajput family of Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were overshadowed by a 5 year ban for...
- Vinod KambliVinod KambliVinod Ganpat Kambli is a former Indian cricketer, who played for India as a middle order batsman, as well as for Mumbai and Boland, South Africa.He is childhood friend of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar...
- Aashish KapoorAashish KapoorAashish Rakesh Kapoor is a former Indian cricketer who played in 4 Tests and 17 ODIs from 1994 to 2000. He was member of the 1996 World Cup Squad but was dropped and was never able to make it back to ODI after 2000....
- Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
- Sanjay ManjrekarSanjay ManjrekarSanjay Vijay Manjrekar is a former Indian cricketer. He has a batting average of 37.14 in his 37 Tests between 1987/88 and 1996/97, as opposed to an overall first-class average of 55...
- Nayan MongiaNayan MongiaNayan Ramlal Mongia is a former Indian cricketer. He played as a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper. Currently, he is a cricket analyst....
(wicketkeeper) - Manoj PrabhakarManoj PrabhakarManoj Prabhakar is a former Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm medium-pace bowler and a lower-order batsman who also opened the innings sometimes for the Indian cricket team until his retirement in 1995–96. He was banned by the BCCI for his involvement in match fixing scandals...
- Venkatesh PrasadVenkatesh PrasadBapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad is a former Indian cricketer. He is the bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, having formerly performed the same role for the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2009. He made his debut in 1996...
- Venkatapathy RajuVenkatapathy RajuVenkatapathy Raju came into the Indian side in 1989–90 after capturing 32 wickets in the domestic season. He made his Test and One Day International debut in the tour of New Zealand. When sent in as a night-watchman in his first Test innings, he batted for more than two hours for 31 runs while six...
- Navjot Singh SidhuNavjot Singh SidhuNavjot Singh Sidhu is former Indian cricket star . After retirement from cricket Navjot Singh Sidhu took up television commentary, and politics. He was later forced to resign from his political position because he was convicted of homicide.-Biography:...
- Javagal SrinathJavagal SrinathJavagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
- Mukesh Kumar (Extra Man)
India used Srinath and Prasad in each game as opening pace bowlers, with Kumble as the spinner. Depending on the pitch conditions, Raju was used four times as a second spinner, whilst Ankola and Kapoor played in the other matches as a spinner. Mongia, Tendulkar, Azharuddin, Kambli and Jadeja played in all matches, whilst Manjrekar, Sidhu and Prabhakar contested two positions in the team, with Prabhakar used as a fifth pace option.
- India's record: 4−3 (semifinalist)
- Sri Lanka's record: 8−0 (champions, won two matches by walkovers)
India at the 1999 World Cup
The 1999 Cricket World Cup in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
was one in which India were not expected to perform too well. Despite having the likes of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
, they weren't having too much of a good run. India was placed in Group A in the pool rounds against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, Zimbabwe, hosts England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
, reigning champions Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
and minnows Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
.
India opened up with a close loss to South Africa in the final overs of the match. Although South Africa won by 4 wickets, the match was not without drama as South Africa had to score had approximately a run a ball in the last 10 overs. The match featured a good performance from Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(97 from 142 balls, 11 fours, 1 six) and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(54 from 75 balls, 5 fours). None of the bowlers backed up the batting performance however, with Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
the leading wicket-taker despite being very expensive. South Africa scored runs more quickly than India did, with Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
(96 from 128 balls) leading the way. India then appeared to have lost all form as they lost to Zimbabwe in a 3-run thriller. India were without the services of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
in this match as the star batsman flew to India after his father's death.The tailenders embarrassed supporters as India, chasing 252, went from 7/246 to all out for 249 with 3 overs left.
India made up for their early losses with a very convincing win over Kenya by 94 runs. India scored 2/329 through centuries from Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
's ferocious ton (140 from 101 balls, 16 fours, 3 sixes) who rejoined the team and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(104 from 109 balls, 10 fours), also near a run a ball. The pair scored 237 in 29 overs at a run rate of 8.17 before Mohanty wiped up the Kenyan batsmen with a 4-wicket-haul. They followed on with a record win against Sri Lanka by 157 runs. Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(183 from 158 balls, 17 fours, 7 sixes) and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(145 from 129 balls, 17 fours, 1 six) picked up two centuries at over a run a ball to get India to a total of 6/373, sharing a partnership of 318 runs in 44.9 overs. Sri Lanka were then rattled through a 5-wicket haul from Robin Singh
Robin Singh
Robin Singh , full name Rabindra Ramanarayan Singh is a former all-rounder who played for India. He is currently the coach of Mumbai Indians...
(5/31 in 9.3 overs). They went on to seal a place in the Super Six competition with a win against home side England by 63 runs; once again Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(40 from 59 balls, 6 fours) and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(53 from 82 balls, 6 fours) starred with the bat, while a strong team effort with the ball got England all out for just 169.
India entered the Super Sixes segment as the team that came second in Pool A. Their strong performances in the Pool Stage did not give them a point boost going into the next segment, as they had taken losses to both of the other teams that had advanced through to the next stage from Pool A. They began badly through a loss against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
by 77 runs, with only Ajay Jadeja (100 from 138 balls, 7 fours, 2 sixes) and Robin Singh (75 from 94 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes) putting up any resistance. They then continued their now extremely strong record against Pakistan in World Cup's with yet another convincing victory over their long-term rivals; the win was by 47 runs. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(61 from 89 balls, 4 fours) and Mohammed Azharuddin (59 from 77 balls, 3 fours, 1 six), led the way as India posted a total of 227 (6 wickets, 50 overs). Venkatesh Prasad
Venkatesh Prasad
Bapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad is a former Indian cricketer. He is the bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, having formerly performed the same role for the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2009. He made his debut in 1996...
then wiped up the Pakistani batsmen, taking 5 wickets for 27 runs as Pakistan was bowled all out for 180 (all out, 45.3 overs). The match was even more significant than usual as the two nations were at war with each other (see 1999 Kargil Conflict). As events between the other teams unfolded, India were eliminated from the tournament, to India, the last match of the tournament against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
was a dead rubber. In the end India lost the thriller by 5 wickets, as New Zealand achieved the target of 252 with just 8 balls to spare, despite a strong performance from Ajay Jadeja
Ajay Jadeja
Ajaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in royal rajput family of Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were overshadowed by a 5 year ban for...
(76 from 103 balls, 6 fours, 2 six).
Despite being eliminated and being forced to play a dead rubber there were some plus-points for the Indian team leaving the world cup. The consistency and effectiveness of batting trio: Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
and Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
was yet to be fully experienced. Despite not making the semi-finals, Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
, being involved in two mammoth partnerships, was the leading run-scorer of the entire tournament with 461 runs at 65.85. The top 3 highest scores of the tournament were that of Indians, with Sourav Ganguly's
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
183, Rahul Dravid's
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
145 and Sachin Tendulkar's
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
140* higher than any other scores in the tournament.
The Indian Squad for the 1999 World Cup comprised:
- Ajit AgarkarAjit AgarkarAjit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
- Mohammed Azharuddin (captain)
- Nikhil ChopraNikhil ChopraNikhil Chopra is a retired Indian cricketer and a cricket analyst. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. A One Day International specialist, he was part of the Indian team at the 1999 Cricket World Cup...
- Rahul DravidRahul DravidRahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(reserve wicketkeeper) - Sourav GangulySourav GangulySourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
- Ajay JadejaAjay JadejaAjaysinhji Daulatsinhji Jadeja was born on 1 February 1971 in royal rajput family of Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was a regular in the Indian cricket team between 1992 and 2000, playing in 15 Test matches and 196 One Day Internationals. His cricketing achievements were overshadowed by a 5 year ban for...
- Amay KhurasiyaAmay KhurasiyaAmay Khurasiya is a former Indian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler.- Career :...
- Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
- Debashish MohantyDebashish MohantyDebasish Sarbeswar Mohanty is a former Indian cricketer who played in 2 Tests and 45 ODIs from 1997 to 2001. He was a right-arm medium-fast bowler who coupled pace to his naturally lanky frame...
- Nayan MongiaNayan MongiaNayan Ramlal Mongia is a former Indian cricketer. He played as a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper. Currently, he is a cricket analyst....
(wicketkeeper) - Venkatesh PrasadVenkatesh PrasadBapu Krishnarao Venkatesh Prasad is a former Indian cricketer. He is the bowling coach for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, having formerly performed the same role for the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2009. He made his debut in 1996...
- Sadagoppan RameshSadagoppan RameshSadagoppan Ramesh is an Indian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. On debut, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, he made a solid 44 off 41 balls...
- Robin SinghRobin SinghRobin Singh , full name Rabindra Ramanarayan Singh is a former all-rounder who played for India. He is currently the coach of Mumbai Indians...
- Javagal SrinathJavagal SrinathJavagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
- Sachin TendulkarSachin TendulkarSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
- India's record: 4−4 (Super 6, 6th place)
- Australia's record: 7−2 (champions, tied semifinal match)
India at the 2003 World Cup
Like in the previous World Cup, India were beginning their 2003 Cricket World Cup Campaign on a string of poor performances. The World Cup consisted of a similar format to the previous world cup. The Indian team was somewhat stronger than the team representing them in the 1999 World Cup, but still contained the batting trio of Sachin TendulkarSachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
and Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
, now accompanied by rising talents Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
, Mohammed Kaif
Mohammed Kaif
Mohammad Kaif is an Indian cricketer. He is a thinly built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000...
and Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
. India were placed in Group A, accompanied by Holland, Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, Zimbabwe, Namibia, England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
and rivals Pakistan. The Top 3 in the pool would advance to the Super Six section of the tournament.
India had a horrid beginning to the tournament, their first match was against minnows Holland, who tumbled the Indian batsmen out for just 204 (all out, 48.5 overs, 206 minutes), with only Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(52 from 72 balls, 7 fours) putting up resistance, although Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
and Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
reverted the damage with 4 wickets each and India ended up winning by 68 runs, the unconvincing victory setting the stage for immense criticism. The next match on India's list was against world champions Australia. The Indian team, batting first, was steadily making progress at 1/41 when disaster struck, Virender Sehwag's
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
wicket triggered a middle order collapse that left India struggling at 5/50 having lost 4 wickets for 9 runs. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
and Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
offered some resistance but the damage was done as India were out for 125 (all out, 41.4 overs, 176 minutes). Australia scored the target in 22.2 overs, only losing one wicket. The Indian performances in the first two matches triggered uproar within India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, player effigies were said to be burnt on streets and the Board of Control for Cricket in India
Board of Control for Cricket in India
The Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
was under immense pressure to reshuffle the team at the end of the World Cup.
This reaction at home may have triggered the Indian performances in the remainder of the World Cup. India moved onto their third match (against Zimbabwe), lacking confidence. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(81 from 91 balls, 10 fours) took India to 255 (7 wickets, 50 overs) and 3 wickets from Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
set the stage for a strong 83 run win by the Indians. This was followed by a 181 run thrashing handed out to minnows Namibia. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(152 from 151 balls, 18 fours) scored a century and Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(112 from 119 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes)* another century in a second-wicket partnership of 244 runs in 39.5 overs to take India to 311 (2 wickets, 50 overs, 207 minutes). Namibia were then all out for 130 (all out, 42.3 overs, 163 minutes) thanks to 4 wickets from part-timer Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
. The man of the match was Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
in both matches.
India finished off the Pool Stage with an 82 run victory over England and a 6 wicket victory over Pakistan. Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...
achieved 6/23 against England to help India defend 250 as England were all out for 168. The Indian batting was bolstered by 50s from Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
and Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
. The match against Pakistan was considered one in which Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
offered his best. Chasing 274, Tendulkar (98 from 75 balls, 12 fours, 1 six) pulled off a near century to guide India to an unlikely victory. Tendulkar was once again awarded Man of the Match.
India were untroubled in the Super Six stage and continued their streak of strong performances with three wins out of three matches. The wins were comfortable, beating Kenya by 6 wickets through a century from Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(107 from 120 balls, 11 fours, 2 sixes); beating Sri Lanka by 183 runs thanks to 97 from 120 balls from Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
, 66 from 76 balls, from Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
and 4/35 from Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath
Javagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
. This match was particularly infamous from a Sri Lankan point of view because there were five Sri Lankan batsmen that got out for 'ducks', or without scoring a single run. The last win was against New Zealand; after Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
helped get the New Zealanders out for 146, Mohammed Kaif
Mohammed Kaif
Mohammad Kaif is an Indian cricketer. He is a thinly built cricketer who made it to the national team on the strength of his performances at the Under-19 level, where he captained the Indian team to victory in the Under-19 World Cup in 2000...
brought India home to a comfortable 7 wicket victory.
This brought India into the semi-finals against overperforming minnows Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
. The match was not dramatic. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
(83 from 101 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) and Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(111 from 114 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) took India to 4/270. From where a combined bowling effort from 7 bowlers got Kenya all out for 179. This brought India into the all-important World Cup grand final with Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, but Australia dominated from the very start, achieving 105 runs in 14 overs before losing a single wicket. Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
(140 from 121 balls), and Damien Martyn
Damien Martyn
Damien Richard Martyn is a former Australian cricketer. He played for the national team sporadically in 1992–1994 before becoming a regular ODI player in 1999–2000 and a regular Test player in 2001 until his retirement in late 2006...
(88 from 84 balls) took Australia to an Australian record 359 (2 wickets, 50 overs), a record that would not be beaten until 2006, while scoring at the rate of 7.18 runs per over. India never stood a chance after Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
lost his wicket for just 4. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
(82 from 81 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) and Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(47 from 57 balls, 2 fours) shared a partnership of 88 runs in 13.2 overs, bringing India to 3/147. With India scoring at 5.96 runs an over, the batsmen were scoring fluently, but India's wickets were falling too quickly. India lost their last 7 wickets for only 87 runs to score 234 (all out, 39.2 overs).
There were a huge amount of bright sides in this tournament for India. Firstly, Man of the Tournament Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
had outperformed every other cricketer in the world cup and had reclaimed his status as one of the best batsmen in the history of world cricket. Tendulkar was leading run scorer with 673 runs, followed by fellow Indian Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
who was 208 runs behind in second. Tendulkar's 152 against Namibia was the second highest score of the tournament and he achieved an average of 61.18. There were upsides in the bowling department as well with Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
4th on the wicket takers list. Finally, India as a team had achieved a streak beaten only by Australia; they lost only two matches in the entire World Cup, both of those being by large margins to champions Australia.
The Indian Squad that were the Runners-up of the 2003 World Cup comprised:
- Sachin TendulkarSachin TendulkarSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
- Sanjay BangarSanjay BangarSanjay Bapusaheb Bangar is a retired Indian cricketer. He was an all-rounder and had represented India in Tests and One Day Internationals....
- Rahul DravidRahul DravidRahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(wicketkeeper) - Sourav GangulySourav GangulySourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
(captain) - Mohammad Kaif
- Zaheer KhanZaheer KhanZaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
- Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
- Dinesh MongiaDinesh MongiaDinesh Mongia is an Indian cricketer who has appeared in ODIs for India. Mongia is a heavy run-scorer in domestic cricket with just under 6850 runs at an average of just under 50 and his highest score being an unbeaten 308...
- Ashish NehraAshish NehraAshish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...
- Parthiv PatelParthiv PatelParthiv Ajay Patel is an Indian cricketer, wicketkeeper-batsman, and a member of the Indian national cricket team. He is a left-handed batsman. He got married in 2008 to Avni Zaveri.- ODI career :...
(reserve wicketkeeper) - Virender SehwagVirender SehwagVirender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
- Harbhajan SinghHarbhajan SinghHarbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
- Yuvraj SinghYuvraj SinghYuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
- Javagal SrinathJavagal SrinathJavagal Srinath is a former Indian cricketer. He was a frontline fast bowler for the Indian cricket team until his retirement, being the second Indian pace bowler after Kapil Dev to take 200 Test wickets. One ball that he bowled during the 1996 tour of South Africa measured...
- Ajit AgarkarAjit AgarkarAjit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
- India's record: 9−2 (runner-up)
- Australia's record: 11−0 (champions)
India at the 2007 World Cup
- 2007 Cricket World Cup2007 Cricket World CupThe 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, this time had gone to the West Indies with 2 convincing home series wins against West Indies and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
For the 2007 tournament, India had what was considered a decent World Cup squad, as it had three batsmen who had scored more than 10,000 ODI runs (Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid), world class spin bowling in the form of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble and a decent pace bowling attack.
They were pitted against Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Sri Lanka and World Cup debutants Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in Group B.
India's World Cup campaign started disastrously, as they lost to Bangladesh in the opener, leaving them with two must-win matches in their group. All Indian batsmen, barring Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
(47) , faltered against the pace of Mashrafe Mortaza
Mashrafe Mortaza
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He broke into the national side in late 2001 against Zimbabwe and represented Bangladesh before having played a single first-class match...
and the left arm spin of Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Rafique
Mohammad Rafique
Mohammed Rafique is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is the leading wicket-taker for Bangladesh in Test matches.-International career:...
.
India next scored 413 against Bermuda, the highest score by India in one-day cricket and the highest team total in a World Cup game. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, who was selected in the team only at captain Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
's insistence, rediscovered his form with 114. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
destroyed the amateur Bermudan bowling, with innings of 83 and 57 respectively. India won the game by 257 runs, and this left them to beat tournament favorites Sri Lanka. Due to their loss to Bangladesh, India's presence in the tournament depended on them defeating Sri Lanka.
At the Queen's Park Oval at Trinidad, on 23 March, the Indian pace bowlers made early inroads, dismissing the danger men, Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
, Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
and Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
early. Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
and Chamara Silva
Chamara Silva
Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva is a Sri Lankan cricketer...
consolidated, making half centuries each and the Sri Lankan innings ended for 254 for the loss of 6 wickets.
The Indians batting crumbled against the Sri Lankan bowling attack, with only Dravid and Sehwag showing some resistance. Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
fell for ducks, and Yuvraj was run out for 6. Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
took 3 wickets, winning him the Man of the Match award. India were all out for only 185, considered surprising given India's batting strength and the batting-friendly nature of the Queen's Park Oval. With one victory and two losses, India were hence knocked out of the World Cup. Bangladesh's win over Bermuda cemented India's exit. It was also the first time since 1992 that the Indian cricket team failed to progress to the latter stages of the tournament.
After the debacle, embattled coach Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
resigned after reports that the senior players were not happy with him. However Dravid retained his captaincy. There were several attacks on players homes and protests by infuriated fans, especially in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
and Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
The 2007 Indian world cup team comprised:
- Robin UthappaRobin UthappaRobin Venu Uthappa is an Indian cricketer. His father is Venu Uthappa, an international hockey referee from Kodagu, Karnataka, mother Roselyn is a home maker and hails from Kozhikode, Kerala and his sister Sharon is a business owner. He studied at St. Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore...
- Virender SehwagVirender SehwagVirender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
- Rahul DravidRahul DravidRahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
(captain) - Sachin TendulkarSachin TendulkarSachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
- Yuvraj SinghYuvraj SinghYuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
- Mahendra Singh DhoniMahendra Singh DhoniMahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
(wicketkeeper) - Ajit AgarkarAjit AgarkarAjit Bhalchandra Agarkar is an Indian international cricketer, who has been on the fringes of the Indian side in both tests and one day matches since his debut in 1998...
- Harbhajan SinghHarbhajan SinghHarbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
- Munaf PatelMunaf PatelMunaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
- Zaheer KhanZaheer KhanZaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
- Irfan PathanIrfan PathanIrfan Pathan is an Indian cricketer who made his debut for India in late-2003 and was a core member of the national team until a decline in form set in during 2006, forcing him out of the team...
- Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
- Dinesh KarthikDinesh KarthikKrishna Kumar Dinesh Karthik is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004 and has been a regular member of the team for varying periods since then, including a stint in 2007 as a specialist opening batsman and non-wicket-keeper...
(reserve wicketkeeper) - Shanthakumaran SreesanthShanthakumaran SreesanthSreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala...
- India's record: 1−2
- Australia's record: 11−0 (champions)
India at the 2011 World Cup
As the host nation for the 2011 World Cup, India were expected to perform well, and were considered pre-tournament favorites by the media and press. Like in 2007, India came into the World Cup on a string of strong performances, both at home and abroad.The Indian team was generally considered to be the strongest batting side in the tournament. Openers Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
anchored a star-studded batting lineup, followed by the talented Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
, rising star Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli ,born 5 November 1988 in Delhi) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia...
, and the explosive Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
and all-rounder Suresh Raina batted in at the No. 5 and 6 spots, respectively. While the bowling attack was considered more suspect, two veterans in paceman Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
and offspinner Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
were joined by newcomers Munaf Patel
Munaf Patel
Munaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
, Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra
Ashish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...
, Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla
Piyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format...
, Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian national cricket team player, who plays for India and Tamil Nadu cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and right arm off-break bowler. He is the only bowler of recent times apart from Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka to bowl the carrom ball. He played two matches...
, and Shantakumaran Sreesanth.
India’s 2011 World Cup campaign started with an 87-run win against an overmatched Bangladesh squad in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
. Behind centuries from Virender Sehwag (175 from 140 balls, 14 fours, 5 sixes) and Virat Kohli (100 n.o. from 83 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) India scored 4/370. Munaf Patel (4-48) took 4 wickets during the Bangladesh reply, including that of opener Tamim Iqbal
Tamim Iqbal
Tamim Iqbal Khan is a Bangladeshi cricketer who played in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka. Tamim made his One Day International debut in 2007 and played his first Test the following year. Between December 2010 and September 2011 he was vice-captain of the national side. He plays his...
(70 from 86 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) as Bangladesh scored 9/283 in 50 overs to fall short.
India next played England at Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. On a batting-friendly track at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium
The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium , located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is one of the cricket stadiums of India. Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, Cubbon and uptown MG Road, this four decade old stadium is situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore. Formerly known as the Karnataka...
, India chose to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar (120 from 115 balls, 10 fours, 5 sixes) lashed his way through the English attack, ably supported by Gautam Gambhir (51 from 61 balls, 5 fours) and Yuvraj Singh (58 from 50 balls, 9 fours). After the 45th over, India was 3/305 and were looking to pass 350 during the batting Powerplay. Instead, English bowler Tim Bresnan
Tim Bresnan
Timothy 'Tim' Thomas Bresnan is an English cricketer. He is a fast-medium bowler, as well as being respected for his ability with the bat for Yorkshire. He normally fields in the deep. He won the NBC Denis Compton Award in 2002 and 2003. In June 2006 he was called up to the England One Day...
(5-48) engineered a collapse with four quick wickets in 16 deliveries, as India slumped to a still-formidable total of 338 all out. England started their run chase by blasting 77 runs off the first 10 overs. Andrew Strauss
Andrew Strauss
Andrew John Strauss, OBE is an English cricketer who plays county cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and is the captain of England's Test cricket team. A fluent left-handed opening batsman, Strauss favours scoring off the back foot, mostly playing cut and pull shots...
(158 from 145 balls, 18 fours, 1 six) decimated the Indian bowling attack with unparalleled ferocity, and was supported by Ian Bell (69 from 71 balls, 4 fours, 1 six). At 2/280 in the 43rd over, England was cruising to an extraordinary victory. However, Zaheer Khan responded by taking the wickets of Strauss, Bell, and Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
in 11 deliveries, as England were reduced to 6/289. Tailenders Tim Bresnan , Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann
Graeme Peter Swann is an English international cricketer. He is primarily a right-arm offspinner, and also bats right-handed. After initially playing for his home county Northamptonshire, for whom he made his debut in 1997, he moved to Nottinghamshire in 2005. He often fields at slip...
, and Ajmal Shahzad
Ajmal Shahzad
Ajmal Shahzad is an English cricketer who plays for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, he made his international debut in a Twenty20 International for England in February 2010...
each hit massive sixes in the final few overs to regain some momentum, and Swann scored 13 runs off the final over to salvage a tie with India (8/338 in 50 overs). It was only the fourth tied match in World Cup history.
In their third group match, India defeated minnows Ireland by 5 wickets. After winning the toss and choosing to field, India’s bowling attack proved superior to the Irish batting lineup. Yuvraj Singh (5-31 in 10 overs) was the chief destroyer, taking five successive wickets – including the top scorer for Ireland, William Porterfield
William Porterfield
William Thomas Stuart Porterfield in Donemana, Northern Ireland, is an Irish cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and the captain of the Ireland cricket team. He has played for the senior Ireland since 2006 and the Under-19s since 2003...
(75 from 104 balls, 6 fours, 1 six). Ireland was eventually bowled all out for 207. During their reply, India slumped to 4/100, as the batting lineup struggled to cope with the tight and accurate Irish bowling. Once again, however, Yuvraj Singh (50 n.o. from 75 balls, 3 fours) helped the Indian side with an unbeaten half-century, and guided his nation to a five-wicket victory.
India’s fourth match was against the Netherlands, at Feroz Shah Kotla
Feroz Shah Kotla
The Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C...
. After choosing to bat first, Netherlands was restricted to 189 all out, with Zaheer Khan (3-20) and Yuvraj Singh (2-43) doing most of the damage. Despite Virender Sehwag’s blistering start, India’s run-chase started out poorly, as they slumped to 4/99. And, once again, it was Yuvraj Singh (51 from 73 balls, 7 fours) who guided India to victory in a crucial 5th-wicket stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
.
India’s next group match was against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
in Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
. After choosing to bat first, India raced to 1/267 in 39.3 overs behind the power hitting of Virender Sehwag (73 from 66 balls, 12 fours), Tendulkar (111 from 101 balls, 8 fours, 3 sixes), and Gautam Gambhir (69 from 75 balls, 7 fours). However, India lost their last 9 wickets for 29 runs in a massive collapse, slumping to 296 all out. Hashim Amla
Hashim Amla
Hashim Mahomed Amla is a South African cricketer. A right-handed upper order batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, Amla bats at number 3 for South Africa in Test matches and has opened in limited overs contests. He is currently ranked as the No...
(61 from 72 balls, 5 fours) and Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
(69 from 88 balls, 4 fours) top-scored in the reply, as South Africa chased down the total with only 3 wickets and 2 deliveries to spare. AB de Villiers (52 from 39 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) scored a quick half-century to keep South Africa ahead of the required run rate. It was India’s first loss in their World Cup campaign.
India’s final group match was against the West Indies in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. India chose to bat first. Yuvraj Singh (113 from 123 balls, 10 fours, 2 sixes) and Virat Kohli (59 from 76 balls, 5 fours) batted well but received little support from the rest of the lineup, as India were all out for 268. With Devon Smith
Devon Smith
Devon Sheldon Smith is a cricketer who represents the West Indies. His primary role within the team is as an opening or top order left-handed batsman, he has bowled right arm off breaks in his career but rarely at international level. In the West Indian domestic competitions he plays for the...
(81 from 97 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) leading the way, the West Indies reached 2/154 before losing their last 8 wickets for 34 runs, allowing India to coast to an 80-run victory. With this victory, India reached the quarterfinals and finished second in Group B.
In the quarterfinals, India faced defending champions Australia in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
. Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. Captain Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
(104 from 118 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) and Brad Haddin (53 from 62 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) scored fluently, but Ravi Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, and Yuvraj Singh took wickets at regular intervals to restrict Australia to 6/250 in 50 overs. Tendulkar (53 from 68 balls, 7 fours) Gambhir (50 from 64 balls, 2 fours) and Yuvraj Singh (57 n.o. from 65 balls, 8 fours) all scored half-centuries in the reply, as India chased down the target with 5 wickets and 14 deliveries to spare.
India next played arch-rival Pakistan in the semifinals. India won the toss and chose to bat first. Despite Sehwag’s customary fast start (38 from 25 balls, 9 fours), the India batsmen had trouble coping with the Pakistani bowling attack. Wahab Riaz
Wahab Riaz
Wahab Riaz is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a left-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-hand batsman. Riaz is a former student of Islamia College, Civil Lines, Lahore...
(5-46) took a 5-wicket haul for Pakistan, and Tendulkar (85 from 115 balls, 11 fours) top-scored for India despite being dropped four times in the field. With India slumping at 5/187, Suresh Raina (36 from 39 balls, 3 fours) shored up the tail as India reached 9/260 in 50 overs. All five Indian bowlers took two wickets in the Pakistani reply, as Pakistan fell behind the run rate and were bowled all out for 231 with 1 delivery remaining. Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi is a Pakistani cricketer and the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team for s and s...
(56 from 76 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) top scored for Pakistan, but his slow start allowed the required run-rate to balloon beyond Pakistan’s reach.
This set up an India-Sri Lanka matchup for the final, held at Wankhede Stadium. On a batting-friendly pitch, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. Zaheer Khan (2-60), using the new ball, bowled three maiden overs and took the wicket of Upul Tharanga
Upul Tharanga
Warushavithana Upul Tharanga , commonly known as Upul Tharanga, is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman and wicketkeeper.-Early life:Upul Tharanga had his education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda...
to leave Sri Lanka at 1/31 after 10 overs – their lowest 10-over score in the tournament. However, Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
(103 from 88 balls, 13 fours) rebuilt the Sri Lankan innings with a superb century, helped by captain Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan, Sinhalese cricketer and the former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is a left-handed top-order batsman...
(48 from 67 balls, 5 fours). Nuwan Kulasekara
Nuwan Kulasekara
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He was educated at the Bandaranayake College-Gampaha. He is principally a fast-medium bowler....
(32 from 30 balls, 1 four, 1 six) and Thisara Perera (22 from 9 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) plundered 91 runs from the last 10 overs, lifting Sri Lanka to a formidable total of 6/274 after 50 overs.
India’s run chase began badly, as Sehwag and Tendulkar were bowled cheaply by Lasith Malinga (2-42) to leave India at 2/31 from 6.1 overs. However, Gautam Gambhir rebuilt the Indian innings with an 83-run partnership for the third wicket with Virat Kohli (35 from 49 balls, 4 fours). After Kohli was caught and bowled to leave India at 3/114, Gambhir (97 from 122 balls, 9 fours) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91 n.o. from 79 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) scored 109 runs for the fourth wicket, in a vicious attack on the tiring Sri Lankan bowlers. After Gambhir played on, Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni carried India to the required total, with Dhoni blasting a massive six off the final delivery. India would win the match by six wickets. Dhoni was named Man of the Match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
for his assault on the Sri Lankan bowling attack. With the win, India secured their first World Cup finals victory since 1983.
There were a huge number of positives for the Indian side in the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
scored 482 runs, and was the second-highest run scorer in the tournament after Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan born October 14, 1976 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka is a Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team since April 2011. He has been a member of the team since November 1999, and was also known as Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan prior to his conversion...
. Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan
Zaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
took 21 wickets, and was the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup along with Shahid Afridi. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
, who scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets, was named Man of the Tournament.
The 2011 Indian world cup team comprised:
- Mahendra Singh DhoniMahendra Singh DhoniMahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team. He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC...
(captain) - Virender SehwagVirender SehwagVirender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
(vice captain) - Gautam GambhirGautam GambhirGautam Gambhir is an Indian cricketer, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team since 2003 and 2004...
- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
- Yuvraj SinghYuvraj SinghYuvraj Singh Bhandal is an Indian cricketer, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008...
- Suresh Raina
- Virat KohliVirat KohliVirat Kohli ,born 5 November 1988 in Delhi) is an Indian international cricketer. He is a middle order batsman, who can also open the batting. He can also bowl right arm medium pace. Kohli was the captain of the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia...
- Yusuf PathanYusuf PathanYusuf Pathan is an Indian cricketer. Pathan made his debut in first-class cricket in 2001/02. He is a powerful and aggressive batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. His brother Irfan Pathan is also an Indian cricketer...
- Zaheer KhanZaheer KhanZaheer Khan is an Indian cricketer who has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000. A left arm fast bowler considered as the best of the Indian fast bowling attack, Zaheer is known for his ability to swing the ball both ways, and as a batsman also holds the record for the highest Test...
- Harbhajan SinghHarbhajan SinghHarbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
- Ashish NehraAshish NehraAshish Nehra is an Indian cricketer who has represented India at the international level since 1999.Nehra started playing first-class cricket for his hometown, Delhi, in the 1997/1998 season and made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1999 and his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare...
- Munaf PatelMunaf PatelMunaf Musa Patel Urdu:مناف موسی پٹیل is an Indian cricketer who has also played for the West Zone in the Duleep Trophy and Gujarat, Mumbai cricket team and Maharashtra cricket team....
- Shanthakumaran SreesanthShanthakumaran SreesanthSreesanth , is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he plays for Kerala and in the Indian Premier League, he plays for Kochi Tuskers Kerala...
- Piyush ChawlaPiyush ChawlaPiyush Pramod Chawla is an Indian cricketer who has played for the India U-19 team and the Central Zone. His Hometown is Moradabad,. He is seen as a leg-spinning allrounder in domestic cricket, but has not fired as a batsman in the One Day International format...
- Ravichandran AshwinRavichandran AshwinRavichandran Ashwin is an Indian national cricket team player, who plays for India and Tamil Nadu cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman and right arm off-break bowler. He is the only bowler of recent times apart from Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka to bowl the carrom ball. He played two matches...
- India's record: 7-1 (1 tied match) (champions)