ICC World Cups over the years have seen some breathtaking performances. There have been many nail-bitters, one-sided games as well as many upsets. Talking about small nations beating big guns, it has been liked by one and all as it is not very often that we get to see this.
The ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 was host to one upset so far as Afghanistan thumped England in the league stage at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. They outplayed the defending champions with both bat and ball and won the match. With the bat, they managed 284 runs and then bundled out the opposition for 215 runs to bag the victory by 69 runs.
ICC World Cup 2023: 3 biggest upsets in World Cup history
As big guns like England faced a disappointing defeat against Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2023, we take a look at the 3 biggest upsets in World Cup history.
3. Ireland vs Pakistan (Jamaica, 2007)
One of the biggest upsets in the history of the ICC World Cup came in 2007. The game between Ireland and Pakistan took place in Jamaica and world cricket witnessed something surprising. The Irish side won the toss and elected to field first. They displayed magic with the ball and bundled out Men in Green for just 132 runs.
Boyd Rankin was the star with the ball as he picked three wickets whereas every other bowler chipped in as well. With the bat then Ireland lost quick wickets and it seemed that they would lose. However, Niall O’Brien smashed a brilliant 72 and took his team home to register the famous win.
2. Kenya vs Sri Lanka (Nairobi, 2003)
Kenya was among one of the teams that pulled one of the most famous upsets in the history of the ICC World Cup. They thumped Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 2003. Kenya was asked to bat first and on account half-century by Kennedy Otieno and vital contributions from Hitesh Modi and Maurice Odumbe posted a total of 215 runs on the board.
Kenya was sensational with the ball after that as they put Sri Lanka under tremendous pressure in the game. Although, Arvinda da Silva held the fort but bowlers chipped in at regular stages. Collins Obuya picked a five-wicket haul as they bundled out Sri Lanka for 157 runs to win the game by 53 runs.
1. India vs West Indies (Lord’s, 1983)
One of the biggest upsets in the history of ODI World Cups was when India defeated the mighty West Indies in the final of the 1983 World Cup. At that time, there was no bigger team than West Indies and India being a low-ranked beating them in the final is still one of the famous victories of all time.
India wasn’t up to the mark with the bat as they were bundled out for just 183 with Kris Srikanth being the top scorer with his 38-run knock. No one expected that they would win but Indian bowlers produced a miracle. They bundled out West Indies for 140 runs to win the game by 43 runs. Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal picked three wickets each whereas Balwinder Sandhu bagged two wickets that helped the team achive history.
Read Also: Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs, Check the updated ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table