How is India’s performance at the ICC Cricket World Cup?

The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup is just a month away and this will be the first time that India will be hosting the marquee event all on its own. This will be the 13th ODI World Cupand in this article, we will see how has India performed over the previous 12 editions.

1975 Cricket World Cup

The 1975 Cricket World Cup was the first edition hosted by England. India was placed in Group A with the hosts England, New Zealand and East Africa. In the first game of the tournament, England faced off against India. The match was won by England by a margin of 202 runs. India then went on to beat East Africa in the second game by 10 wickets. In the do-or-die game against New Zealand, India lost by 4 wickets which meant they could not qualify for the semi-finals.

1979 Cricket World Cup

This was India’s poorest performance at the World Cup as they failed to win a single game in the tournament. India was placed in Group B with the eventual winners, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. They lost their first game against West Indies by 9 wickets. They lost to New Zealand in the following game by 8 wickets. In their last group-stage game against Sri Lanka, they lost by 47 runs.

1983 Cricket World Cup

The 1983 Cricket World Cup was the first time that India won the prestigious tournament. India was placed in Group B with West Indies, Australia and Zimbabwe. This World Cup was unique as every team played every other team in their groups twice. India’s first game was against West Indies which they won by 34 runs. India then defeated Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in their second game. India suffered their first defeat at the hands of Australia in their third game by a whopping margin of 162 runs. West Indies managed to defeat India in their fourth game by 66 runs. India then defeated Zimbabwe by 31 runs to end their losing streak. In their last group-stage game in a virtual quarter-final, India defeated Australia by 118 runs.

The Kapil Dev-led side for the first time qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup where they met the hosts England. India defeated England by 6 wickets after an all-round performance from Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny, Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil. In the finals, India met the winners of the previous two editions, West Indies. After a disappointing performance with the bat in the first innings, Indian bowlers Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal with the support of other bowlers helped India lift the trophy for the first time.

1987 Cricket World Cup

India along with Pakistan were the hosts for the World Cup. This was also the first time that the World Cup was played with the 50 overs format. India was placed in Group A with Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. In their first game, the Kapil Dev-led side lost by a whisker as Australia defeated India by just one run. India then defeated New Zealand by 16 runs and followed it up with an 8-wicket victory over Zimbabwe. India then defeated Australia by 56 runs and then went on to defeat Zimbabwe by 7 wickets and New Zealand by 9 wickets. India once again qualified to the semi-finals where they lost to England by 35 runs.

1992 Cricket World Cup

The group stage format was scrapped and was replaced by a round-robin format. India finished 7th in the group stage as they managed to win only two games and had one of their games against Sri Lanka washed out. India won against Pakistan and Zimbabwe and lost to the other teams. 

1996 Cricket World Cup

The Cricket World Cup once again returned to the sub-continent as India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup. India was placed in Group A with Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Kenya. India defeated Kenya in their first game by 7 wickets and then defeated West Indies by 5 wickets. India lost back-to-back matches to Australia by 16 runs and to Sri Lanka by 6 wickets. India defeated Zimbabwe by 40 runs to qualify for the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, India defeated Pakistan by 39 runs before losing to Sri Lanka in the semi-finals.

1999 Cricket World Cup

India was placed in Group A with South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Sri Lanka and Kenya. In their five games, India defeated England, Sri Lanka and Kenya and lost to South Africa and Zimbabwe to qualify for the Super Six. In the Super Six, India only managed to win a single game against Pakistan and lost four games.

2003 Cricket World Cup

In the 2003 Cricket World Cup, India was placed in Pool A with Australia, Zimbabwe, England, Pakistan, Netherlands and Namibia. India had a great start to their World Cup as they only lost a single game to Australia and managed to win 5 games to move into the Super Six. India once again only lost a single game to Australia in the Super Six and won the rest of their four games to move into the semi-finals. India then defeated Kenya in the semi-finals to reach the finals against Australia. Against Australia, India had a disappointing game as they lost the finals by 125 runs. 

2007 Cricket World Cup

It was an abysmal performance from India at the 2007 World Cup as they lost against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage. India only won their game against Bermuda.

2011 Cricket World Cup

India was once again the host of the World Cup along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. India was placed in Group B with South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and the Netherlands. India won four of their six games against West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands. The MS Dhoni-led side lost to South Africa and tied the game against England. India finished second in their group behind South Africa and qualified for the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, India faced off against the most successful team of the tournament, Australia. India defeated Australia by 5 wickets. In the semi-finals, India clashed with arch-rivals, Pakistan. India put on a great all-round performance to win the game by 29 runs. In the finals, India faced co-hosts, Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 274 runs which meant that India had to chase the highest-ever total in the finals. After early wickets fell, Gautam Gambhir along with captain MS Dhoni ensured that India won the World Cup after 28 years.

2015 Cricket World Cup

The defending champions were placed in Group B in the 2015 World Cup along with South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates. India won all of their six games in the group stage and finished top of their group. India demolished Bangladesh as they won the quarter-finals by 109 runs. India then clashed with Australia in the semi-finals where they were defeated by the eventual winners by 95 runs.

2019 Cricket World Cup

The tournament returned to a round-robin format with 10 teams. India lost only one game against England and topped the points table with seven wins, one loss and one no-result against New Zealand. India qualified for the semi-finals and played New Zealand in the semi-finals in a game that started on 9th July but finished on 10th July with rain interruptions. India lost the game by 18 runs as their World Cup campaign ended.

Conclusion

India’s performance at the ICC Cricket World Cup has been a mix of highs and lows over the years. Their journey began with disappointment in the early editions, but they achieved their first victory in 1983, under Kapil Dev’s leadership. Subsequent tournaments saw varying degrees of success, including another World Cup win in 2011, led by MS Dhoni. While India consistently performed well in the group stages, they faced challenges in knockout matches. The 2019 World Cup ended in disappointment with a semifinal loss to New Zealand. As they prepare to host the 2023 World Cup, India hopes to add another triumph to their cricketing legacy.

Also Read: Virat Kohli at no. 4 in ODI World Cup: What is his record?

“Get more sports news, cricket news, and football updates, log on to sportsdigest.in. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel.”