Upsets that stunned the 50-over Cricket World Cup

The World Cup in its 13th edition has seen many glorious uncertainties. Starting the start, the World Cup has seen the rise of West Indies under skipper Clive Lloyd, who lifted the first trophy in 1975 (pictured) and again for the second time in 1979. Subsequently Australia rose to the top after winning their first title in 1987 and strengthened their grip on the quadrennial event, winning it five times. But despite all the highs, many giants have fallen on the way in the World Cups, that includes defending champions England losing to outsiders Afghanistan on Sunday. Gulf News takes a look at some of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup.

1983 - India vs West Indies (final): Two-time champions West Indies had total control over world cricket with the fearsome pacers and the attacking batters in their ranks. Barring a few, no team could even dream of matching them on the field, leave alone beating them. They were invincibles since the 1970s. The carefree brand of cricket in the One-Day Internationals (60 overs then) also suited their style of play. Kapil Dev-led (pictured) India , who were rank outsiders in the World Cup, stunned the Clive Lloyd team in a low-scoring thriller, bringing a demographic shift to the game that and its impact could be felt even today.

1996 - Kenya v West Indies: Despite the downfall in 1983 and subsequently not qualifying for the 1987 World Cup and in the 1992 World Cup in Australia where they finished with four wins and four loses, it was important for the West Indians with the likes of greats like Brian Lara (pictured), Richie Richardson, Carl Hooper, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh lost to World Cup debutants Kenya in a shock loss that virtually triggered their downslide. Chasing a paltry target of 167, West Indies were bundled out for a paltry 93.

1999 - Zimbabwe v India: Andy Flower and Grant Flower — guided Zimbabwe to 252. Fancied India were at a comfortable spot at 174/4 in the 33rd over before suffering a mini-collapse. With India needing seven runs, Henry Olanga dismissed all three remaining wickets in one over to give help Zimbabwe score their first win over India, a chance they missed when the Indian were on the mat during the 1983 World Cup before legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev played a magnificent knock to pull them back from the brink and win.

1999 - Zimbabwe v South Africa: Zimbabwe were on a roll during the 1999 World Cup with several stars putting their hands up at different times. All-rounder Neil Johnson gave Zimbabwe a solid start and then dismissed the left-handed opener Gary Kirsten off the first ball. Despite being down 40/6, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener took South Africa closer to the target of 234, but eventually fell short by 48 runs.

1999 - Bangladesh v Pakistan: Bangladesh were reduced to an under-par score of 223. Akram Khan (42) and Shahriar Hossain (39) stood strong against a potent Pakistan attack with Saqlain finishing with five for 35. Pakistan did not get the right start in their chase and soon slipped to 42 for five, from which they never managed to climb back to victory.

2007 - Bangladesh v India: Sourav Ganguly played a lone hand for India at the top of the order while wickets tumbled around him. The opener reached 66 to at least ensure India set a competitive target of 192 but only had Yuvraj Singh (47) offer any support of note as the door was left open for a Bangladesh upset. Fifties to Tamim Iqbal and Shahriar Nafees boosted Bangladesh’s chances, while an impressive Shakib Al Hasan — who was making his Cricket World Cup debut — helped guide them home. The clash with Bangladesh kicked off a dire campaign for India as they finished bottom of their group and failed to progress to the Super 8 stage.

2011 - Ireland v England: A stunning counter-attack by Kevin O’Brien caught England on the wrong-foot and the win the contest by three wickets in Bengaluru. O’Brien took Ireland from 111/5 to a target of 328 to dent England’s plans. O’Brien’s 113 runs off 63 balls guided his team to a three-wicket win over England, for whom Jonathan Trott (92), Kevin Pietersen (59) and Ian Bell (81) starred. Alex Cusak and O’Brien had a 162-run partnership for the sixth wicket with John Mooney (pictured) completing the formalities with unbeaten 33 to go with his four-wicket haul.

2023 - England v Afghanistan: Afghanistan had just one win in their past 17 World Cup matches. In what started as another regular contest against England, the sixth-ranked Afghans waited for the right moment to hand out one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history with a 69-run victory over the defending champions. Afghanistan had the best bowling for this conditions, but it was the batting that was letting them down. However, against England they rode on the wonderful momentum they got from the openers and kept plundering runs all the way on a good pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which even saw a world record score by South Africa in the earlier game.