The biblical story of David and Goliath is probably the most well known story of an underdog victory. Glancing through the history of ICC World Cup, we can see similar unbelievable feats.
Kenya beat West Indies (1996)
It was a dream come true for Kenyan cricket fans. Their team was up against cricket's most successful team in the group stage. The Windies had won two titles while Kenya was playing its first World Cup. It should have been a routine victory but turned out to be the biggest shock in World Cup history.
West Indies won the toss and elected to field first. The Kenyan batting lineup collapsed with the score at 81 for 6 at one point. It was Hitesh Modi and Thomas Odoyo who put up a strong partnership and helped the team cross 150. With a target of 167, the Windies began strongly before the wickets started to fall for them as well. They slumped to 33 for 3 when Brian Lara was out. Rajab Ali ended up getting his third-consecutive three-wicket haul. All out for 93, West Indies lost to the Kenyans by 73 runs. Captain Maurice Odumbe's figures of 15 for 3 fetched him the Man of the Match award. “It’s like winning a World Cup” Odumbe had said after the game.
Scores:
Kenya: 166 all out (49.3 overs)
West Indies: 93 all out (35.2 overs)
Kenya won by 73 runs
Ireland beat England (2011)
In this group stage game, England won the toss, opted to bat and put up a respectable total of 327 for the loss of eight wickets. But, England’s fielding turned out to be shoddy. Kevin O'Brien's 113 off 63 balls blew the English bowlers away. But there seemed like another twist to the game when O'Brien was run out in the penultimate over. But John Mooney saw the Irish over the line in the final over to help the team to a historic victory.
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O’ Brien scored the fastest hundred in World Cup history and was adjudged Man of the Match.
Scores:
England: 327/8
Ireland: 329/7 (49.1 overs)
Ireland won by 3 wickets
India beat West Indies (1983)
The final of the Prudential Cup was played between India and the West Indies in London. It was the third consecutive World Cup final for the West Indies, while India had exited in the group stage of the previous two events. India lost the toss and were asked to bat first. The West Indies had an arsenal of the world's best bowlers. Only Mohinder Amarnath (26) and Kris Srikkanth (38) were able to put up any noteworthy resistance to the onslaught as the side scored a meagre 183 runs. But the Indian bowlers outshone their Windies counterparts, making the best of the weather and pitch conditions. Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each. The West Indies were bowled out for 140 runs.
It is one of the greatest matches in Indian cricket history. India had lifted its first World Cup trophy under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, thanks to the all-round effort of Amarnath.
Scores:
India: 183 all out (54.4 overs)
West Indies: 140 all out (52 overs)
India won by 43 runs
Bangladesh beat India (2007)
Bangladesh was successful in ousting India in the group stage of the 2007 World Cup when they beat them for only the second time in an ODI. Rahul Dravid's decision to bat first on the juicy pitch was reasonable. Despite Sourav Ganguly’s half century, India collapsed. Ganguly played cautiously as the wickets around him fell. Mashrafe Mortaza picked up four wickets as India was restricted to 191.
Three teenagers in the Bangladesh side excelled with the bat. The youngest member of team, Tamim Iqbal, scored a gritty 51, while Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan scored 56 and 53 respectively. The defeat later proved costly as India went on to lose to Sri Lanka as well in the group stage and was dumped out of the tournament.
Scores:
India: 191 all out (49.3 overs)
Bangladesh: 192/5 (48.3 overs)
Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Zimbabwe beat England (1992)
In the round-robin stage of the 1992 World Cup, Zimbabwe were up against tournament favourites England. The African side had set a target of just 135, which England found hard to reach, ending up with just 125 runs at the Lavington Sports Oval in Albury. Though England were in good form, it had lost to New Zealand in the previous game. It looked like a walk in the park when Zimbabwe scored just 134 runs. But Eddo Brandes's 21 for 4 proved to be the game changer.
The result did not affect either of the sides in any way, as Zimbabwe finished bottom of the round robin group and England went on to reach the final. But it was a moment to cherish for the minnows.
Scores:
Zimbabwe: 134 all out (46.1 overs)
England: 125 all out (49.1 overs)
Zimbabwe won by 9 runs