Cricket is a game of chance, as the One-Day International (ODI) World Cups frequently demonstrate. When Kenya defeated the illustrious West Indies in the 1996 World Cup, it became obvious to athletes and sports fans that no team should be taken lightly when participating in a major competition like the Cricket World Cup.
Cricket fans were in disbelief when Bangladesh crushed Pakistan by 62 runs during the 1999 World Cup. Everyone who supported Pakistan was startled by the loss since no one had anticipated that the in-form Men in Green would be outclassed by an inexperienced Bangladesh team. Following those two upsets, subsequent comebacks in the ODI World Cups of the twenty-first century startled the die-hard fans of this sport.
Cricket World Cup fails:
5. England vs Ireland in 2011
The 2011 World Cup was Ireland’s second World Cup appearance. At Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, they faced England after losing their opening match to the hosts, Bangladesh. Andrew Strauss, the captain of England, won the toss and decided to bat first.
England’s batters appeared assured with the bat and amassed 327 runs in their 50 overs against an inexperienced Irish team. The individual scores of Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell were 92 (92) and 81 (86), while Kevin Pietersen also contributed greatly as the opener with a quick 59-run innings (50 balls).
As they attempted to reach the enormous target, Ireland lost their captain William Porterfield when the opening ball of their innings resulted in a duck. Paul Stirling and Ed Joyce attempted to stabilise the Irish batting following the early defeat with their respective 32-run knocks, but the squad found itself in trouble when half the side was dismissed at 111.
After Kevin O’Brien and Alex Cusack arrived, everything for the Irish team completely changed. Kevin destroyed the English bowling unit and went on to hit the fastest tonne (50 balls) in World Cup history. Cusack, who sat in the centre and produced a great knock of 47 off 58, gave Kevin encouragement. The right-handed batsman returned to the pavilion after reaching 113 runs off 63 balls, but his countryman John Mooney played an unbeaten 33-run innings off 30 balls to help Ireland win by an unprecedented three wickets.
4. Sri Lanka vs Kenya in 2003:
Before the 2003 World Cup, the former world champions Sri Lanka had never suffered a loss to an affiliate nation. In the group stage of the 2003 Globe Cup, Kenya defeated Sri Lanka by a score of 53 runs, shocking both the globe and Sri Lankan cricket fans. The Kenya cricket team, captained by Steve Tikolo, successfully completed this challenging feat in Nairobi.
When Sri Lanka’s then-captain Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss, he asked Kenya to bat first. On the second delivery of the game, the hosts lost their starter Ravi Shah, but Kennedy Otieno appeared to be in great shape. The right-handed batter amassed 60 runs off of 88 pitches and enabled his team to score 210 runs. Hitesh Modi and Maurice Odumbe both added 26 runs in support of Otieno.
Peter Ongondo, the reliever, won the crowd over with a spirited 20-run inning on just 18 balls, though. Kenya bravely defended the modest target by bowling Sri Lanka out for 157 in 45 overs. Collins Obuya’s ferocious leg-break bowling successfully trapped five Sri Lankan hitters. In addition to dismissing two hitters, Steve Tikolo also helped Obuya. Obuya ultimately won the Player of the Match prize after leading his squad to a 53-run victory during his 10-over stint with 5/24 statistics.
3. England vs Bangladesh in 2015:
Concerning the 2015 World Cup, Bangladesh advanced to the round of 16 after defeating England at Adelaide Oval. Eoin Morgan, the captain of England, called the toss and asked Mashrafe Mortaza and his team to bat first in the match. Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, the opening pair for the Bangla team, were cheaply lost.
To get his team back into the game, experienced Mahmudullah stepped up in this contest and formed crucial partnerships with top-order batsman Soumya Sarkar and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim. Rahim finished with an 89 off 77 while Mahmudullah went on to score a century. Bangladesh set England a target of 276 based on the outstanding efforts of both players.
The bowlers from Bangladesh successfully defended the total as they continued to take wickets at regular intervals. After the loss of six wickets, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes showed bravery by scoring 65 and an unbeaten 42 runs in quick succession, respectively. However, after the wicketkeeper batter was taken out, things went south for England as their lower-order batters were unable to finish the chase after being dismissed on 260.
Rubel Hossain contributed significantly with the ball in this incredible 15-run victory, taking four wickets in his 9.3 overs of bowling. Mahmudullah was named Player of the Match for scoring 103 runs off 138 deliveries with his bat.
2. Pakistan vs Ireland in 2007:
By defeating Pakistan by a remarkable margin of three wickets in the group stage of the 2007 World Cup, Ireland made their debut unforgettable. The Irish captain Trent Johnston won the toss and decided to field first in the crucial encounter against the Men in Green at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan were quickly taken out of the game by the Irish bowlers, who also took complete control of the match. Pakistan’s batting utterly disintegrated under duress, and they were unable to recover from the disastrous start. The Men in Green were defeated by 132 runs in 45.4 overs.
It was a fantastic chance for Ireland to defeat a top team and get attention. Niall O’Brien played a solid innings of 72 off 107 to move his team closer to the objective when the Irish team was chasing the score. The Irish team lost the opener, Jeremy Bray, and Eoin Morgan early. Along with his skipper Johnston, Niall’s younger brother Kevin struck an unbeaten 16 and led the team to victory. Johnston also contributed an unbeaten innings of nine runs. As a result of his excellent performance in his team’s three-wicket triumph, Niall was named Player of the Match.
1. India vs Bangladesh in 2007:
When Ireland thrashed Pakistan by three wickets at the 2007 World Cup in Jamaica, Bangladesh also made history by shocking the cricketing community by shocking India by five wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on the same day. Nobody had predicted that the star-studded Indian squad would lose to the neighbours going into the game.
But when the match really took place, the Bangla Tigers looked outstanding in every aspect of the contest and defeated the powerhouses. India lost their first innings by 191 runs after winning the toss and electing to bat. The quick bowler racked up a four-wicket haul (4/38) to take the most wickets in the game.
With three wickets each, Mohammad Rafique and Abdur Razzak strengthened his team’s bowling attack. The Bangla Tigers lost their opener Shahriar Nafees in the fifth over of the innings after the team’s poor total, but youthful players Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim maintained their composure and struck half-centuries.
Shakib-Al-Hasan also pitched 53-run innings from the bottom order, assisting the club in getting closer to the total. Rahim defeated Munaf Patel with the game-winning stroke, giving his team the victory. With an unbroken 56-run total, the wicketkeeper ended up leading his team in runs scored. Mortaza’s outstanding bowling earned him the Player of the Match honour.
So, this was all about the Cricket World Cup upsets. Also read, Asia Cup 2023: 5 takeaways from India vs. Pakistan Super 4s.
