Image Credit: ICC Cricket
Since it was first held in 1975, the World Cup has been hosted to a wide variety of spectacular matches, incredible teams, and the shattering of several records in various categories. However, while there are some records of which you should be proud, there are also those you wish you didn’t have attached to your name. On the other hand, there are better head-to-head records than this one that a team has ever had against a particular opponent in the history of the World Cup.
The World Cup, at which several different records have already been established even though the competition is still going on. In the following slides, we take a look at all of the longest streaks in the history of World Cups, including the most consecutive tons, the longest winning and unbeaten streaks, as well as dubious honours such as the most consecutive ducks and losing streaks:
Most Consecutive Centuries
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Kumar Sankara
Only Kumar Sangakkara has managed to score four consecutive hundreds in one-day internationals. And the fact that it was the World Cup further amplifies the significance. This World Cup in 2015 was Sangakkara’s last ODI competition, and he had played in many.
With scores of 39 and 7, his first two games of 2015 were relatively quiet. It was impossible to stop him once he began rolling. Sangakkara made his first hundreds of the season against Bangladesh, leading Sri Lanka to a resounding victory. He batted undefeated for 105 runs off of 76 balls. The Lankans could easily surpass England’s target of 310 thanks mainly to his unbeaten 117 off of 86 balls.
The next game Sangakkara played was against Australia, and he scored 104 out of 107, which was his slowest hundreds of the tournaments and the only one he scored in a losing cause. Sri Lanka’s master left-hander added insult to injury and feasted on the Scots, scoring 124 runs off 95 balls and extending his record of consecutive hundreds to four, the longest such streak in the history of the game in the 50-over format.
Most Consecutive 50+ Scores
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Virat Kohli
Between June 9 and 30, 2019, Virat Kohli, captain of the Indian cricket team, scored five straight half-centuries at the World Cup in England and Wales. With scores of 82 (against Australia), 77 (against Pakistan), 67 (against Afghanistan), 72 (against the West Indies), and 66 (against England), the batsman accumulated 443 runs in nine games, and India finished first in their group and advanced to the semi-finals.
Kohli smashed the previous World Cup record held by South Africa’s Graeme Smith in 2007 and Australia’s Aaron Finch on June 25, 2019, for scoring four consecutive fifties. Two of his fifty were turned into a hundred by the latter.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith, playing for Australia in the World Cup under Michael Clarke’s leadership in 2015, made history by being the first player to hit five consecutive fifties. On March 29, 2015, against New Zealand, Smith made his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score hundred. He finished the streak with 56 not out in the final. Seven other batsmen at the 2019 World Cup reached 50 runs in at least five games, albeit they did not do so in a row.
Most Consecutive Ducks
Shem Ngoche and Nicholas De Groot (2003 & 2011)
Shem Ngoche of Kenya and Nicholas De Groot of Canada share the dubious distinction of having the most consecutive ducks in the history of the World Cup.
De Groot was dismissed in three games during the 2003 World Cup without causing any problems for the scorekeepers. These three games were against Bangladesh, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. Similarly, Ngoche achieved this again in the 2011 edition of the competition when he was out for a duck in three straight matches against New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
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