There is only one month till the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted exclusively in India for the first time. The 13th ODI World Cup will take place this year, and in this post, we’ll examine how India fared in the first 12 tournaments.
1975 Cricket World Cup
The first Cricket World Cup to be held in England was in 1975. With the hosts England, New Zealand, and East Africa, India was put in Group A. England and India squared off in the tournament’s opening match. England defeated India by a score of 202 runs to win the match. The second game saw India defeat East Africa by 10 wickets. India lost by four wickets in the decisive match against New Zealand, which prevented them from moving on to the semifinals.
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1979 Cricket World Cup
India’s World Cup result was the worst ever as they went winless during the competition. The eventual winners, the West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka were all grouped in Group B with India. They were defeated by West Indies in their opening match by nine wickets. In the following match, they were defeated by 8 wickets by New Zealand. They suffered a 47-run defeat to Sri Lanka in their final group-stage match.
1983 Cricket World Cup
India won the prestigious competition for the first time in the 1983 Cricket World Cup. With the West Indies, Australia, and Zimbabwe, India was assigned to Group B. Every team in every group played the other team twice, making this World Cup unusual. India defeated West Indies in their opening match by a score of 34 runs. The second game saw India overcome Zimbabwe by five wickets. India lost their third game to Australia by an enormous score of 162 runs, suffering their first loss ever. India was defeated by West Indies by 66 runs in their fourth game. India ended Zimbabwe’s losing skid by defeating them by 31 runs later. India trounced Australia by 118 runs in their final group-stage match, effectively advancing them to the semi-finals.
For the first time, the team captained by Kapil Dev advanced to the World Cup semifinals, where they faced the hosts England. Following an all-around effort from Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny, Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil, India defeated England by 6 wickets. India faced the champions of the previous two competitions, West Indies, in the finals. Indian bowlers Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal, with assistance from other bowlers, helped India win the trophy for the first time after a lacklustre showing with the bat in the first innings.
1987 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan and India served as the World Cup hosts. Additionally, the 50 over format was used for the first time at the World Cup. Along with Australia, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe, India was assigned to Group A. The Kapil Dev-led team fell short in their opening match as Australia defeated India by a slim margin of one run. India then overcame New Zealand by 16 runs before defeating Zimbabwe by 8 wickets. India next trounced Australia by 56 runs before going on to defeat Zimbabwe and New Zealand by 7 and 9 wickets, respectively. India advanced to the semi-finals once more but fell to England by a score of 35 runs.
1992 Cricket World Cup
A round-robin format took the place of the group stage format. India only able to win two games during the group stage, and one of their games against Sri Lanka was postponed. As a result, they placed seventh overall. India defeated Pakistan and Zimbabwe but falling short against the other teams.
1996 Cricket World Cup
The 1996 Cricket World Cup was held in India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, bringing the tournament back to the subcontinent. With Sri Lanka, Australia, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, India was assigned to Group A. India overcame Kenya by seven wickets in their opening match before defeating the West Indies by five wickets. India dropped two consecutive games, one to Australia by 16 runs and the other to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. India beat Zimbabwe by a score of 40 runs to advance to the quarterfinals. India overcame Pakistan by 39 runs in the quarterfinals before falling to Sri Lanka in the semifinals.
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1999 Cricket World Cup
With South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka, and Kenya, India was included in Group A. India won three of their five games, losing to South Africa and Zimbabwe, and defeating England, Sri Lanka, and Kenya to advance to the Super Six. India was only able to defeat Pakistan once in the Super Six, losing four times.
2003 Cricket World Cup
India was included in Pool A of the 2003 Cricket World Cup together with Australia, Zimbabwe, England, Pakistan, the Netherlands, and Namibia. India made a wonderful World Cup debut, dropping just one game against Australia and winning five more to go to the Super Six. In the Super Six, India once again only dropped one game, this time to Australia, and won the other four to get to the semifinals. India advanced to the finals against Australia after defeating Kenya in the semifinals. India played poorly against Australia, losing the match by a score of 125 runs.
2007 Cricket World Cup
India put on a terrible show at the 2007 World Cup, losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage. Only the game versus Bermuda was won by India.
2011 Cricket World Cup
The World Cup was once again co-hosted by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka alongside India. South Africa, England, the West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, and the Netherlands were all grouped in Group B with India. India defeated West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, and Netherlands in four out of six games. The MS Dhoni-led team drew with England and lost to South Africa. India qualified for the quarterfinals by placing second in their group, behind South Africa.
India played the tournament’s most successful team, Australia, in the quarterfinals. Australia was defeated by India by 5 wickets. In the semifinals, India and Pakistan squared off. India won the match by 29 runs thanks to a strong all-around effort. At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India squared off against the co-hosts, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka scored 274 runs while batting first, forcing India to chase the highest-ever finals total. After several early wickets were lost, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni, the captain, made sure that India won the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.
2015 Cricket World Cup
The 2015 World Cup groupings for the defending champions included South Africa, Pakistan, the West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the United Arab Emirates. India finished first in their group after winning all six of their games during the group stage. India defeated Bangladesh utterly and prevailed by 109 runs in the quarterfinals. India subsequently faced Australia in the semifinal match, losing to Australia by a score of 95 runs.
2019 Cricket World Cup
With 10 teams, the tournament’s round-robin format was reinstated. India led the points standings with seven victories, one defeat, and one no-result against New Zealand. They only dropped one game, to England. In order to get to the semi-finals, India defeated New Zealand in a match that began on July 9 and was interrupted by rain on July 10. India’s World Cup campaign came to an end as they were defeated by 18 runs.
Conclusion
Over the years, India’s results at the ICC Cricket World Cup have been a mix of highs and lows. Under the direction of Kapil Dev, they had early defeats in their journey before recording their first victory in 1983. Success varied in subsequent competitions, including another World Cup victory in 2011, steered by MS Dhoni. India usually competed well in the group stages, but they had difficulties in the knockout rounds. A semifinal loss to New Zealand marked the disappointing conclusion of the 2019 World Cup. India wants to secure yet another victory as they get ready to host the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
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