India are one of the world’s greatest cricket playing nations and we must go back to the 1700s to find the first time the sport was played in the country. From the initial first class cricket match between Calcutta and Madras in 1864 to the modern stars of today, Indian cricket has enjoyed a wonderful journey, including many highs and lows at the World Cup.
India’s Glorious World Cup Triumphs
Having first played in the 1975 Cricket World Cup, India tasted success in the 1983 edition of the tournament. The squad included some of the biggest names in the history of cricket, with Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny, and Sunil Gavaskar leading the way, the latter of which has had a trophy named after him.
India were dominant for much of the competition and twice beat defending champions, West Indies, including the final. India became the first team other than West Indies to lift the World Cup. The success was massive for Indian cricket, with the popularity of the sport increasing dramatically in the country following the win.
Fast forward to 2011 and India lifted their second Cricket World Cup trophy and this one was extra special as the event was contested in India. The Indian team were forced to work hard for their success and faced three-time defending champions Australia in the quarter-final, beating them with only 14 balls left to spare. Into the semi-final and it was another huge occasion for India as they faced Pakistan in Mohali.
Sachin Tendulkar was the star man with the bat, scoring 85 runs and leading India to the final against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 188 runs between them in the final and having lost two wickets in the first seven overs of their innings, India recovered to win their second Cricket World Cup.
Heartbreaking Near-Misses
It has not all been success for India at the Cricket World Cup and the most recent tournament at the time of writing, the 2023 World Cup, is a prime example. India won 10 of their 11 matches in the tournament, which is their best record since the competition was played with 8 or more teams. However, the one game India lost proved to be the most decisive, as it was the final against Australia.
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However, despite their dominance throughout the tournament and having Australia at 47/3, India could not stop Travis Head. The Australian batter scored 137 runs to condemn India to a heartbreaking defeat in-front of their own fans.
Australia also proved to be India’s downfall in the 2003 Cricket World Cup final, in what was a comprehensive defeat by 125 runs. Australia were commanding throughout the event, winning all 11 of their matches. However, that did not stop an Indian player from claiming personal success and Sachin Tendulkar was named Man of the Tournament as the batter finished as the top run scorer with 673 runs.
India’s Outstanding World Cup Statistics
Even during near-misses, Indian cricketers continued to perform and set the standard at the World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run scorer in the history of the competition having amassed 2,278 runs between 1992 and 2011. It is unlikely that total will ever be surpassed.
Virat Kohli gave it a good go before he retired from One Day International cricket in 2024 and he is the second highest run scorer in the history of the Cricket World Cup, with 1,795 runs. Tendulkar and Kohli also lead the way for the most half-centuries, while Rohit Sharma has the most centuries in Cricket World Cup history, having amassed 7 between 2015 and 2023. Kohli has the most runs in an individual tournament, scoring 765 runs, with Tendulkar in second place with 673 runs.
In terms of bowling, there have also been many triumphs at the World Cup for India. Mohammed Shami is the fifth highest wicket taker of all time with 55 wickets to his name in the competition. Bowling averages do not come much better than the 19.57 of Jasprit Bumrah, giving the Indian fast bowler the fourth best average in the history of the competition.
There have been many highs and lows for India at the Cricket World Cup. Only Australia have won the competition more times than India and when it comes to individual performances, Indian players have proved themselves to be the best in the world, especially with the bat. There is sure to be more to come from the Indian team in the future as they continue their World Cup journey.
