ODI World Cup Records: What is the closest win by runs?

The ODI World Cup 2023 is currently underway but there have been many arguments made saying that the matches are not as competitive as they should be. Often the results of the match can be decided in the first innings itself. But over the 48 years of history of the ODI World Cup, there have been a few close matches with some of them going to the last ball. In this article, we will take a look at the closest wins in the World Cup by runs.

What is the closest win by runs in the ODI World Cup?

The closest margin of victory by runs in the ODI World Cup is 1 run. There have been two matches which have been won by just a single run. Coincidentally, both these matches have involved Australia and India.

India vs Australia, 1987 World Cup

India was the defending champions of the World Cup in 1987 after winning the tournament in 1983. The defending champions began their World Cup with a match against Australia. Kapil Dev, the Indian skipper won the toss and decided to field first. 

Australian openers, David Boon and Geoff Marsh put up a century stand before Boon was dismissed by Ravi Shastri just one run short of his half-century. Marsh then shared half-century stands with Dean Jones and skipper Allan Border. Marsh scored a century hitting seven fours and one six. Manoj Prabhakar dismissed the centurion after he had made 110 runs in 141 balls. Australia scored 270 giving the hosts a target of 271 runs. 

Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth opened the innings and shared a half-century stand before Peter Taylor dismissed Gavaskar. Srikkanth and Navjot Sidhu made useful contributions with knocks of 70s. Sidhu’s wicket led to a collapse as India went from 207-2 to 256-8. India’s number 11, Maninder Singh was bowled by Steve Waugh on the penultimate ball of the match with just two runs needed for a win. 

Australia vs India, 1992 World Cup

Five years later once again Australia and India faced off each other in yet another close contest. This time it was the Australian skipper, Allan Border who won the toss and decided to bat first. Kapil Dev started well for India by removing both Australian openers with just 31 runs on the board. David Boon once again came close to scoring a half-century but was dismissed by Venkatapathy Raju for 43 runs. Dean Jones batting at four played a pivotal knock scoring 90 runs in 108 balls hitting six fours and two sixes. He was dismissed by Manoj Prabhakar. There were no other significant knocks from Australia as they were restricted to 237 in the first innings thanks to three-fers from Kapil and Prabhakar.

Opening the innings, Kris Srikanth failed to repeat his heroics from the 1987 World Cup and was dismissed for a duck by Craig McDermott. Rain interrupted in the second innings changing India’s target to 236 in 47 overs. Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin played a great knock of 93 runs in 102 balls hitting 10 fours. Lower down the order, Sanjay Manjrekar almost won the match for India with a 42-ball-47-run knock. When Manjrekar was dismissed, India needed 20 runs in two overs. Kiran More hit two fours in the last over and was dismissed on the third ball with five runs remaining to win the match. Prabhakar was ran out on the penultimate ball. On the last ball, India needed four to win and three to tie. Javagal Srinath almost won the match but Steve Waugh at deep mid-wicket with a rocket throw denied the third run to India as he ran out Venkatapathy Raju.