India is one of the nations with the most cricket players in the world and we must go back to the 18th century to find the first time this 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 ups and downs in 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 team included some of the biggest names in cricket history, with Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny and Sunil Gavaskar leading the way, the latter of whom has a trophy named after him.
India dominated much of the competition and beat defending champions West Indies twice, including in the final. India became the first team other than the West Indies to lift the World Cup. The success was huge for Indian cricket, and the sport’s popularity increased dramatically in the country after the victory.
Fast forward to 2011, India lifted their second Cricket World Cup trophy and this one was very special as the event was played in India. The Indian team was forced to work hard to achieve success and faced three-time defending champions Australia in the quarter-finals, beating them with only 14 balls to spare. They reached the semi-final and it was another big occasion for India when they faced Pakistan in Mohali.
Sachin Tendulkar was the star 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 after losing two wickets in the first seven overs of their innings, India bounced back to win their second Cricket World Cup.
Heartbreaking near misses
It has not all been success for India in 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 only match that India lost turned out to be the most decisive as it was the final against Australia.
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However, despite their dominance throughout the tournament and holding Australia at 47/3, India could not stop Travis Head. The Australian batsman scored 137 runs to condemn India to a heartbreaking defeat in front of their own fans.
Australia also proved to be India’s undoing in the 2003 Cricket World Cup final, in what was a comprehensive defeat by 125 runs. Australia was in command throughout the event, winning all 11 of their matches. However, that did not stop an Indian player from claiming his personal success and Sachin Tendulkar was named Man of the Tournament as the batsman finished as the leading run-scorer with 673 runs.
India World Cup Stats Highlights
Even in the moments of near misses, Indian cricketers continued to perform and set the standard in 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 that total will ever be surpassed.
Virat Kohli gave it a good try before retiring from One Day International cricket in 2024 and is the second highest run-scorer in Cricket World Cup history, 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, India has also achieved numerous victories in the World Cup. Mohammed Shami is the fifth highest wicket-taker of all time with 55 wickets to his name in the competition. The bowling averages are not much better than Jasprit Bumrah’s 19.57, giving the Indian fast bowler the fourth-best average in the competition’s history.
There have been many ups and downs for India in the Cricket World Cup. Only Australia has won the competition more times than India and when it comes to individual performances, Indian players have proven to be the best in the world, especially with the bat. There will surely be more to come from the Indian team in the future as they continue their journey to the World Cup.