History Of Cricket World Cup – Trip Down The Memory Lane “1975 to 2019”

One of the most watched sporting events, the Cricket World Cup, is the pinnacle of one-day international cricket. The action between bat and ball, the nail-biting finishes, the high-octane drama, and the personal glory of their beloved stars can keep anyone on the edge of their seats. Over 2 billion cricket fans across the world eagerly wait for the cricketing magic to unfold in front of their eyes.

The first-ever official cricket match was played between England and Australia in 1877. Much before the official game, cricket was being played by various local and international teams. For a long time, there was only one format: The Tests, which lasted five days.

In January 1971, at the MCG, the first three days of the scheduled match washed out, and was abandoned. To keep the fans happy, it was decided to play a one-off game consisting of 40 eight-ball overs per side. Australia won the game by five wickets; the date was January 5, 1971.

Due to the good response and the popular demand, this experiment was regularized. With the addition and modification of lots of rules that were introduced for this shorter format, it became the ODI we now watch and love.

The overwhelming success of the spectator friendly “limited overs” matches forced the ICC to think about organizing a world tournament. The first tournament, the Prudential World Cup, was hosted by England in 1975; since then, it’s been regularly organized every four years.

Prudential World Cup 1975 – It Started with Lloyd

The first Cricket World Cup was held in England, between 7 – 21 June 1975, and was played by 8 teams – Australia, England, India, New Zealand Pakistan, West Indies (All six Test nations of the time) and two associate teams Sri Lanka and East Africa. It was the time when South Africa was boycotted by the world sports due to Apartheid.

All the matches were 60 overs per innings and played in traditional white uniforms and red balls.
England, New Zealand and West Indies, Australia qualified for the semi-finals for their respective groups. where Australia defeated England and the West Indies emerged victorious over New Zealand.
West Indies which were the favourites, defeated Australia in the final at Lord’s by 17 runs to become the first World Cup winners.

The highlight of the 1975 Cricket World Cup final was a magnificent century by WI captain Clive Lloyd which also earned him the Man of the Match.
Glenn Turner of New Zealand was the top scorer with 333 runs, while Gary Gilmour of Australia took 11 wickets in the only two matches he played.

India managed only to win their match against minnows East Africa.

Prudential World Cup1979 – The Return of the King Clive

The Second World Cup was also held in England between June 9 and June 23, 1979. It was also played by eight teams: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies (all six Test nations at the time), and two qualifying teams: Sri Lanka and Canada. This was again a 60 over side format.

England, New Zealand, the West Indies, and Pakistan reached the semi-finals. England and the West Indies played in the final after defeating New Zealand and Pakistan, respectively.

The West Indies once again proved their dominance, winning the 1979 Cricket World Cup final match comfortably by 92 runs and lifting the trophy for the second time in a row, the highlight being the belligerent attack by Sir Vivian Richards which took the game away from England. He was also awarded Man of the Match for his innings.

West Indian great Gordon Greenidge scored the highest runs (235) of the tournament, and Mike Hendrick of England was the leading wicket-taker with 10 wickets.

India lost all its matches, including the game against qualifying Sri Lanka. This was India’s worst performance to date.
Asian teams except India did well, as Pakistan reached the semi-finals and Sri Lanka got its first World Cup victory.

Prudential Cricket World Cup 1983 – The David vs Goliath

The third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament was held in England and Wales from June 9 to 25, 1983 again having 60 overs per side.

8 teams: Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, the West Indies, Sri Lanka (all seven Test nations at the time), and a qualifying Zimbabwe. This time, group stages were played in a double round-robin format, where every team in the group played each other twice.

The West Indies, India, England, and Pakistan qualified for the semifinals. The highlight of the group stage was probably the greatest ODI inning by any batsman. A knock of 175 not out by Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe after Indian batting collapsed to 17 for 5.

In the semifinals, India defeated England, where Kapil Dev took 3 for 35 with Yashpal Sharma and Sandip Patil scored half-centuries. In the other semifinal, Pakistan was defeated by the West Indies; the highlight was Viv Richards’s 80 runs in 96 balls.

The 1983 Cricket World Cup final played at Lords on June 25, 1983, was David vs. Goliath personified. The two-time champion West Indies were hot favourites, but in a stunning upset, India, led by Kapil Dev, defeated the West Indies by 43 runs. Mohinder Amarnath (3/12) and Madan Lal (3/31) were the leading wicket-takers in a low-scoring match.
Kapil Dev’s long running catch to dismiss Viv Richards was the turning point in the game.
Amarnath was declared man of the match for his 26 runs and three wickets.

A watershed moment for cricket in general and especially for India, the 1983 final remains one of the greatest matches in the history of the game. It was the definitive moment that led to an unprecedented surge in the popularity of cricket in the Indian subcontinent.

Reliance Cricket World Cup 1987 – It All Started Here

1987 Reliance World Cup was the first time Cricket World Cup came out of England, between 8 October to 8 November 1987, it was hosted jointly by India and Pakistan.

 It was also the first world cup where 50 over format was adopted. The same eight teams from the previous World Cup, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, participated in the tournament.

India, Australia, Pakistan and England reached to the semifinal stage where India lost to England and Pakistan was defeated by Australa.

In the 1987 Cricket World Cup final, Australia emerged victorious in a closely fought contest in Kolkata’s Eden Garden.

Graham Gooch, England (471), and David Boon(447) of Australia were the highest run-getters. With 18 and 17 wickets, Craig Mcdermott, Australia and Imran Khan, Pakistan emerged as leading wicket-takers.

Australia’s win was characterized by close wins throughout the tournament.

Benson & Hedges Cricket World Cup 1992 – The Captain’ Saga

The 1992 World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand, from 22 February to 25 March 1992. The fifth iteration of the tournament introduced colored clothing, white balls, day/night matches, and a change to the fielding restriction rules. It was the first time, The South African cricket team participated in the event after the fall of the apartheid regime and the end of the international sports boycott.

The format of the tournament also changed to complete round robin where each team played every other team, New Zealand topped the group stage with seven wins. The other teams in the top four were England, Pakistan and playing their first Word Cup, South Africa.

Pakistan who struggled intially really came in form and defeated New Zealand which were favourites at the time, the hero of the match was Inzamam ul Haq who smashed 60 runs in 37 balls in a chase where Pakistan needed 123 in last 15 overs.

In other controversial semi-final, England defeated South Africa. In most bizarre circumstances, when rain inturpted the match for ten minuts, South Africa’s target revised from 22 runs from 13 balls to an impossible 22 runs from one ball.

In the 1992 Cricket World Cup final played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by Pakistan beat England by 22 runs. With the help of 72 runs by Pakistan captain Imran Khan Pakistan made 249/6. England fought hard but were all out at 227.

It was rags to riches story of how Imran Khan leading from the front steered Pakistan to victory.

India on the other hand had very dismal tournament and managed to win only 2 matches out of seven.

Wasim Akram was Man of the Match for his 3/39 and 33 runs while Martin Crowe was awarded the Man of the Tournament (which was introduced from this World Cup) for his 456 runs in the tournament.

Wills World Cup 1996 – The Lions’ Roar

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka jointly hosted the sixth instalment of the tournament called Wills World Cup, 1996 from Feb, 14 to March 17, 1996.
Nine test-playing nations and three associate teams, Kenya, UAE and Netherlands participated in the tournament.

Sri Lanka, India, Australia and West Indies from group A and South Africa, New Zealand, England and Pakistan from Group B progressed into the quarterfinals. The minnows Kenya surprized the West Indies by beating them by 73 runs. Australia and West Indies refused to play in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka was awarded both matches on forfeit by ICC.

Sri Lanka continue to plunder the opposition and defeated England by 5 wickets in merely 40.4 overs, Jayasuriya made 44 balls 82 in Bengaluru(then Benglore). India once again defeated arch rivals Pakistan. The heroes of the match were Navjot Sing Sidhu (93) and Ajay Jadeja 45 in 25 balls. Jadeja Famously took 22 runs in one over of Waqar Younis which propelled India’s score at the end.

South Africa cemented the choker tag and lost to West Indies by 19 runs.
In the last quarterfinal, Australia defeated New Zealand by 6 wickets.

Then came the day which is a blot on Indian cricket and the Eden Gardens, painfully etched in memory of Indian fans. In the first semifinal Sri Lanka batted first and made 251 runs.

India chasing 252 were 98 for 1, when Sachin gets out on a delivery by Jayasuriya, that was the moment when the collapse started. In next 22 runs, 7 wickets were lost, the crowd went berserk and started throwing bottles, cups into ground and burning placard in the stands. The rioting continued and play was stopped. When the crowed refused to relent the match referee awarded the match to Sri Lanka.
The image of Vinod Kambli leaving the ground, weeping in hopelessness is still etched in every Indian cricket fans’ mind.

In the other semi final West Indies lost to Australia in a low scoring thriller by 5 runs.

The stage was set for history to unfold in Ghaddafi Stadium, Lahore where Sri Lanka defeated a star stud Australian team by seven wickets in 46.2 overs, The man of the match Arvind De Silva made an unbeaten 107 to take Sri Lanka to an amazing victory in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

This marked the arrival of Sri Lanka on the world stage. They single-handedly changed the ODI game. The way, from an inexperienced and ordinary team, they transformed into a mighty force is a case study in itself.

Sachin Tendulkar was the highest run-getter with 523 runs and Kumble took 15 wickets, the highest in the tournament.

Sanath Jayasuriya was awarded the Player of the Series award for his all round performance in the tournament.

ICC World Cup 1999 – The Winning By Spinning

In 1999, from the 14th of May to the 20th of June, England played host to the Cricket World Cup. Among the twelve contenders were two fresh faces, Bangladesh and Scotland, bringing new vigour to the competition.

The teams were divided into two groups, each facing off against the others in their group, a test of mettle and strategy. The top six teams emerged from their crucible, advancing to the Super Six round. Here, they clashed with the top three from the other group, setting the stage for the semi-final showdowns.

Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and New Zealand stood as the last four standing. In the semi-final between Australia and South Africa, destiny played a curious hand. Scores were tied, but Australia advanced on a technicality, igniting a firestorm of debate about the fairness of certain cricketing rules. In the midst of this controversy, Shane Warne show the world why is the magician of spin bowling, with figures of 4/29, he left the South Africans high and dry.

In the other semi-final, Pakistan defeated New Zealand. An unbeaten 113 from Saeed Anwar, saw Pakistan storm into the final. Shoeb Akhtar was crowned the Man of the Match, for his 3/55.

The 1999 Cricket World Cup final itself was a testament to Australia’s dominance. Restricting Pakistan to a mere 132, they totally owned the Pakistan. Shane Warne, the maestro, conjured figures of 4/33, earning him the well-deserved title of Man of the Match. Australia won by eight wickets, the match concluding in just 20.1 overs.

Lance Klusener for his all-round brilliance, bestowed with the title of Man of the Series.

For India, the journey had been disappointing. Led by the enigmatic Mohammad Azharuddin, the team does not live upto expectations. Apart from few standout performances from likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and the indomitable Sachin Tendulkar, who faced the heart-wrenching loss of his father, and in very next game the Little master made a breathtaking 140, nothing stand out.

ICC World Cup 2003 – The dominance Continues

In the year 2003, cricket fans from around the world were looking towards the vibrant landscapes of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, The stage was set for a monumental event, slated between the 9th of February and the 23rd of March, 2003.

Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Bangladesh, Canada, Namibia, and the Netherlands all stepped onto the field, their aspirations intermingled with the hope of a nation.

A total of 54 matches awaited, The teams were divided into two groups, each facing off against the others in their group.The top six teams, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Newzealand and zimbabwe, emerged from their crucible, advancing to the Super Six round. Here, they clashed with the top three from the other group, setting the stage for the semi-final showdowns.

Australia, India, Sri Lanka, and the surprising force of nature, Kenya reached into semifinals.

In the first semi-final, Australia faced off against Sri Lanka and emerged triumphant, winning the rain interrupted match by 48 runs( D/L Method)

In the second semi-final, India locked horns with the spirited underdogs, Kenya. Saurav Ganguli led from the front and made an unbeaten 111, Sachin continuing his dominance made 83, India won by 91 runs

The grand stage was now set, with Australia and India poised for an epic showdown. It was a story of heartbreak for India from the word go and a cake walk for Australia, who made a mammoth total of 359 for 2. Chasing a formidable total India start with the loss of Sachin Tendulkar, and never fully come back in the game and lost by 125 runs.

Ricky Ponting for his 140, was rightfully crowned the Man of the Match.
Sachin Tendulkar, was bestowed with the title of Man of the Series, for his 673 runs, Chaminda Vass was the highest wicket taker with 23 scalps.

ICC World Cup 2007 – Kangaroos Again

The West Indies, with its palm-fringed beaches and vibrant culture, played host to the 2007 Cricket World Cup from  March 13, 2007 toApril 28, 2007.

Sixteen nations, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Bermuda, Canada, and Kenya, participated in the grand celebration of the game.

Teams divided into 4 groups, each team played once with each team from its group, 8 teams, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland advanced into Super 8 stage. In a major setback, India and Pakistan both failed to make into next round, Bangladesh and Ireland go ahead after defeating them.

In super eight the top four teams, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and South Africa were the top four, who reached into semifinals.

In the first semi-final, Australia face of with South Africa, who crumbled like a house of cards in-front the combined might of Glen McGrath(3/18) and Shaun(4/39), Australia chased the total of 149 in just 31.3 overs.

On the other side, Sri Lanka beats New Zealand 81 runs, Mahela Jayvardahane made an unbeaten 115, and Murlidharan ends up with figures of 4/31.
 

Australia and Sri Lanka stood as the last bastions, In a rain affected match, Australia beats Srilanka  by 53 runs (D/L method). Adam Gilchrist, was declared Man of the Match for his 149 (104)

Glenn McGrath’s brilliance extended beyond a single match, earning him the distinguished title of Man of the Series for his 26 wickets, Mathew Hayden with 659 runs was the top scorer of the tournament.

India, one of the pre-tournament favorites, found themselves unexpectedly knocked out in the group stage. The early exit of India and Pakistan both caused heavy drop in viewership and interest of fans from subcontinent.

In a big controversy, Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead on 18 March 2007 in his hotel room, in fishy circumstances, the investigation remains inconclusive.
The tournament, specially the final was marred by the umpiring errors, The umpires and the ICC apologised for the unnecessary situation and the officials involved, all suspended from the 2007 T20 World cup

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – India’s Triumphant Journey to Glory

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was hosted jointly by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka between 19 February – 2 April 2011, fourteen teams, 10 test playing nations and 4 associate teams Canada, Kenya, Ireland and NetherLand, participated in the tournament which were divided into two groups, each team played once with every team from their groups.

8 teams Pakistan, SriLanka, Australia and New Zealand from group A and South Africa, India, England and West Indies,  advanced into quarter finals.
In their Quarter final clash Pakistan thrashed West indies by 10 wickets, India Defeated Australia by 5 wickets to secure the clash with Pakistan. New Zealand won by 49 runs against South Africa where It faces the Sri Lanka who won their match against England by 10 wickets.

In the Semifinal Sri Lanka continues its superb run and defeated NewZealand by 5 wickets and reached its IInd consecutive final.

In other match, dubbed as the Final before the Final, India faces the challenge of arch rivals Pakistan. With help of the 85 runs of Sachin Tendulkar, India managed to make 260/9. The collective tight bowling from Ashish Nehra, Munaf, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Yuvraj restricted the Pakistan to 231, India won the match by 29 runs, Sachin was Man of the Match.

Two asian teams faced each other in world cup final for the first time in world cup history. In Wankhede Stadium Mumbai, Srilanka decided to bat first and with the help oi 103 by Mahela Jayawardhane, made 274/6. India started on a low note with Sehwag goes for 0 and Tendulkar for 18, after that Gambhir and Dhoni hold the ground and made 97 and 91 respectively, Dhoni remains unbeaten and finish of the match in style when he hits Kulasekara for a superb 6.
It was India’s 2nd world cup win after 1983

MS Dhoni was man of the match in the final, Yuvraj Singh (362 runs and 15 wikets)for his all round performance deservingly won Man of the series. Tilakratne Dilshan (500 runs) was the highest run getter followed by Sachin Tendulkar (482) Zaheer Khan and Shahid Afridi both got 21 wickets, highest in the tournament.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Australia and New Zealand, played host to the 2007 Cricket World Cup from 14 February 2015 – 29 March 2015

Sixteen nations, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies, England, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Ireland, Afghanistan, Scotland, UAE – each brought with them the dreams of a nation, the hopes of a people.

14 teams divided into two groups of seven; every team play with each team from their group once, the top four teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals.
From group A New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and From group B India, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies advanced into quarter finals.

New Zealand, Australia, India, and South Africa win their quarterfinals and reached into Semifinal.

In the first semi-final, New Zealand defeated South Africa by 4 wickets in a rain affected match, Grant Elliott, rightfully named the Man of the Match for his 84 runs in 73 balls.

In other semifinal, Australia clashed with India, tha match resulted in 95 run victory for australia, Steve Smith, earned the title of Man of the Match for his 105 in 93 balls.

The final of Cricket World Cup 2015, won by Australia who who defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets. burnished. James Faulkner, stood tall as the Man of the Match.

Mitchell Starc(22 wickets), was named Man of the series, Martin Guptill was the highest run scorer with 547 Runs.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – The Drama and The New Champions

In 2019, from the 30 May – 14 July 2019, England once again host the Cricket World Cup, which saw 10 teams competing for the prestigious title.

England, India, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan – participated in the tournament.

All the team were in one group and each team played with other nine teams once. The top fur teams emerged India, Australia, England, and New Zealand 

In the first semi-final, England faced the mighty Australia and emerged victorious, by 8 wickets, Chris Woakes for his 3 for 20 beats India by 18 runs. Matt Henry, named Man of the Match.

The world is set for getting a new world champion, The 2019 Cricket World Cup in Lords between England and New Zealand tied with 241 in 50 overs, the new method of deciding the winner by Super over also cant produce the result (both teams scored 15 runs), so the ridiculous boundary count rule comes into play and England declared the winner(26 vs 17 boundaries).

Ben Stokes, named the Man of the match and Kane Williamson, a captain with the heart of a lion, was named the Man of the Series.
Rohit Sharma and David Warner were highest run getters with 648 ans 647 runs respectively.
Mitchel Starc get the honor of highest wicket taker with 27 wickets.

The match will always be remember for the wrong reasons, the controversy is over shadows the whole tournament. The rule of number of boundaries scored after the Super Over ended in a tie, sparked a spirited debate on the most appropriate way to decide the victor.

Summary

Formats Of Each Cricket World Cups

Year Wise Cricket World Cup Winners List

Man of the Match in the Finals of Cricket World Cup

Man of the Tournament (Started from 1992) of each Cricket World Cup