Top 10 Iconic Moments In Cricket World Cup History

Dwayne Leverock (Photo Source: Twitter)

The Cricket World Cup began in 1975 when the governing body of cricket recognized the growing popularity of one-day cricket in the early 1960s. The audience liked the shortened version of the game being played in county cricket. England were the only country at that time, able to put forth the resources to organize such a big tournament.   

England hosted the first three World Cups and in 1987 the tournament moved to Asia when India and Pakistan hosted the event. Since then, the tournament has been hosted by different countries on a rotational basis. Still, England have hosted the tournament, the most- five times.

The 1992 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand featured coloured clothing and matches under floodlights. The 2011 World Cup was the first one with a Decision Review system. It was also the first time any host nation won the global tournament. 

The upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 will be the 13th edition of the tournament. India will host it as the sole host for the first time. The tournament has a rich history and apart from various records, there have been many highlight reel-worthy moments.

Here are the Top 10 Iconic Moments In Cricket World Cup History:

10. Dwayne Leverock’s diving catch of Robin Uthappa- 2007 World Cup

Dwayne Leverock (Photo Source: Twitter)

The 2007 World Cup was played in the Caribbean for the first time and India faced Bermuda for the only time in their ODI history. India batted first and posted the first-ever total of over 400 runs on the board. The 413/5 was the highest score in the 2007 World Cup, with Virender Sehwag scoring a century and Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar making fifties. 

The match saw Dwayne Leverock, a policeman from Bermuda featuring in the tournament and gaining attraction for his weight. Records stated he was around 127 kgs, but showcased immense agility in slips. Malachi Jones got Robin Uthappa to edge one out-swinger and Leverock dived to his right grabbed the ball with one hand and went for a wild celebration. 

9. Herschelle Gibbs drops Steve Waugh’s catch- 1999 World Cup

Herschelle Gibbs. (Photo Source: Twitter)

South Africa clashed with Australia in the Super 6 match of the 1999 World Cup in Headingley. Herschelle Gibbs’ century and Daryl Cullinan’s 50 gave Proteas 271/7 on the board batting first. The total was a good one as South Africa had Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Steve Elworthy, and Lance Klusener in their attack.

Australia didn’t start well losing Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, and Damien Martyn early. Ricky Ponting made 69, but it was skipper Steve Waugh who anchored the innings. Australia was 149 for 3 at the end of 30th over. In the 31st over, Lance Klusener got Steve Waugh to play a false shot towards mid-wicket.

The ball ballooned to Herschelle Gibbs, one of the top fielders during that time. Gibbs took the catch, but in a hurry to prematurely celebrate, he dropped the catch. Waugh took full advantage of that and scored 120*, taking Australia to a 5-wicket win. 

“How does it feel to drop the World Cup, Herschelle?” Waugh had famously asked Gibbs after the dropped catch. Though Waugh later denied making that statement.

 

8. Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant hook shot for six off Andy Caddick- 2003 World Cup

Sachin Tendulkar (Photo Source: Twitter)

The 2003 World Cup was the one when Sachin Tendulkar was in his prime. The tennis elbow injury had not happened, and neither Greg Chappell had arrived on the scene. India had already received a jolt early in the tournament after being demolished by Australia in a group game. 

This game against England in Durban was important for India. Before the game pacer Andy Caddick decided to take a dig at Sachin Tendulkar saying that he’ll make a mistake and England pacers will be more than happy to see him open the innings. Caddick threw shade at Tendulkar batting in the middle order the previous year and also heading into the World Cup.

But during the match, after India opted to bat first after winning the toss, Tendulkar went after Andy Caddick. The pacer leaked 47 runs in his 6-over spell with the new ball with the little master scoring 36 runs off 19 balls against him with seven fours. But the shot which has become an iconic moment in World Cup history came in the eighth over of the Indian innings.

Tendulkar had smashed Caddick for a four towards the leg side on the first delivery of the eighth Over. Then anticipating a short ball from the pacer, Tendulkar shuffled a bit towards his off-side and hooked a bouncer from the fast bowler for a huge six. The ball went out of the stadium over the deep square leg region.

 

7. Shane Watson faces hellfire from Wahab Riaz- 2015 World Cup

Shane Watson vs Wahab Riaz- 2015 World Cup. (Photo Source: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

Australia and Pakistan clashed in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide. Pakistan batted first but only mustered 213 runs with Haris Sohail top-scoring with 41 runs and Josh Hazlewood taking 4/35. This was a low score in such an important game and Pakistan knew they had to give it all to compete against a potent Australia batting.

Australia started shakily losing Aaron Finch and Michael Clarke for single-digit scores and Warner fell for 24 runs. Wahab Riaz was breathing fire in the middle knowing he had to pick more wickets after accounting for Australia’s captain and his next target was Shane Watson. And for the next 30 minutes, everything took a backseat, as the world saw a Pakistani pacer making hellfire rain on an Australian batter.

Wahab bowling like a wind had Watson ducking, weaving, and copping blows to his body in an intense bowling performance, which has been called a ‘spell for ages’. Watson went through a series of evasive full-body spasms. His back and limbs are aping the shape of half the alphabet. Wahab had Watson hooking to fine leg, where Rahat Ali dropped a simple catch. 

In the end, the hell-fire stopped as Misbah Ul Haq decided to rest Wahab Riaz. This allowed Australian batters to canter home. Steve Smith made 65, Watson remained unbeaten on 64 and Glenn Maxwell made 44* as Australia won by 6 wickets, qualifying for the semi-finals.

6. Australia vs. South Africa tied semi-final- 1999 World Cup

Australia vs. South Africa 1999 World Cup Cricket. (Photo Source: Craig Prentis /Allsport)

If the first encounter between the top two teams in the 90s was nail-biting, South Africa and Australia played another epic match in the 1999 World Cup. This time the occasion was the second semi-final of the tournament and the venue was Birmingham. Hansie Cronje won the toss and chose to chase. 

Australia somehow managed to conjure 213 runs with Steve Waugh (once again) and Michael Bevan scoring fifties. Shaun Pollock had hurt them big with 5/36 including some big wickets of Mark Waugh, and then removed the skipper and Bevan, ending their 90-run partnership. South Africa just needed 214 runs to make it into their first World Cup final.

But then Shane Warne happened to them. He picked 4/29 including wickets of Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Hansie Cronje, and Jacques Kallis. At 61/4, Proteas were in trouble but valuable runs from Jonty Rhodes and Kallis and then Lance Klusener brought them close. South Africa entered the final over at 205/9, needing a further nine runs to win.

Lance Klusener was at the crease with Damien Fleming bowling. The left-hander proceeded to hit the first two balls for fours, levelling the scores. But then he missed one delivery and panic set in. Despite needing 1 run from the next three balls, Klusener took a risky single after hitting the ball to mid-off. But Allan Donald didn’t hear the call and was watching the ball. By the time, Donald ran to the batting end, he was run out and the match ended in a tie.

But Australians celebrated as they knew they had made it into the final. The Herschelle Gibbs’ dropped catch, helped Australia win against South Africa in the Super Six match. This gave Australia a superior net run rate and helped them into the finals.

5. Jonty Rhodes’ Superman run out of Inzamam Ul Haq- 1992 World Cup

Jonty Rhodes 1992 World Cup. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The 1992 World Cup was a new experience for viewers as it was the first time the event was played in colored clothing, with white balls, and had matches that were played under lights. This was also the first time South Africa played in the World Cup, a year after their readmission into international cricket. And they performed brilliantly, reaching the semi-finals of the tournament. 

They almost reached the finals with wonderful performances, but their biggest contribution to world cricket was Jonty Rhodes. His energetic fielding enthralled viewers and he gave the 1992 event its biggest highlight reel. This came in the South Africa vs. Pakistan match in Brisbane when he ran out of Inzamam Ul Haq. 

Pakistan was chasing a revised target of 194 runs in 36 overs to win the match and a young Inzamam Ul Haq was leading the charge. Haq and Imran Khan were at the crease with Pakistan on 135/2. He tried to flick a ball to the leg side, but the ball ricocheted towards the point after hitting his pad. Inzamam took off for a single with Imran responding initially. But Khan saw Jonty galloping towards the ball. 

He tried to send back Inzamam, and the then 19-year-old turned around. But Rhodes decided to take the ball, sprint towards the stumps, and leapt at the pegs, demolishing them. Inzamam was short of the crease and Rhodes’ highlight reel moment helped South Africa win by 20 runs.   

4. Venkatesh Prasad’s send-off to Aamer Sohail- 1996 World Cup

Venkatesh Prasad. (Photo Source: Twitter)

India and Pakistan is the biggest rivalry in world cricket and the stakes are raised high in World Cup tournaments. The two arch-rivals have clashed 8 times in ODI World Cups and India has not lost to Pakistan in a single match. Their best and most entertaining clash came in the 1996 World Cup, in the quarter-final of the tournament in Bengaluru.

Navjot Sidhu’s 93 and Ajay Jadeja’s death overs flurry took India to 287/8 in 50 overs. The highlight was his demolition job of Waqar Younis, in which the bowler leaked 45 runs in his last two overs. It was a big target in those times, but Pakistan started well, with Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar adding 84 runs for 1st wicket in just 10 overs.

Saeed Anwar fell for 48, But Sohail continued his aggressive batting. In the 15th over, the final one of the fielding restrictions, he hit Venkatesh Prasad for a four, advancing down the track, towards point. After hitting the shot, he infamously showed his bat to the bowler, signing that he would hit him to the same place on the next ball.

Venkatesh Prasad improvised a bit and bowled a fuller length, which Sohail tried to cut and lost his off-stump, which cartwheeled towards the keeper. The crowd in Bangalore went crazy as Prasad gave an apt send-off to Sohail. This was enough to fire the Indians who then went on to win the match by 39 runs.

This was also the final match of Javed Miandad’s international career and he was run out for 38 runs in his final innings.  

3. Kapil Dev’s brilliant running catch to dismiss Viv Richards- 1983 World Cup

Kapil Dev. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The third edition of the World Cup was played in England in 1983. The great West Indies was looking to complete their hat-trick of trophies having won the tournament in 1975 and 1979. But little did they know, that an underdog Indian team would not let them achieve that dream, but go on to win the World Cup.

India was not considered favourites by any margin, having won just one game in the last two editions. This time they were captained by a 24-year-old Kapil Dev. India started well by defeating West Indies in Berbice and then triumphed against Australia as well. The next big thing was them was Kapil Dev’s brutal 175* against Zimbabwe, which helped India put up a winning total from being 17/5 and 78/7 at one stage. 

They then regrouped well and defeated England in the semi-finals to book a ticket for the final at the Lord’s. Kapil Dev has said that he was shocked to see a green pitch for the final against the West Indies, who had a lethal pace battery. Meanwhile, Clive Lloyd won the toss and put India into bat.

Kris Srikkanth’s 38 and Mohinder Amarnath’s 26 led them to 183 runs in a 60 overs per side match. With nothing to lose, India gave it their all against a complacent West Indies batting lineup. Indian medium pacers rattled the fame batting lineup with Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal taking three wickets each.

But Viv Richards had other ideas as he clattered 33 runs with 7 boundaries and was looking in a hurry to finish the game. Madan Lal forced Kapil to give him one more over and got Richards to mistime a pull. Kapil Dev at mid-wicket ran back quite a few yards to take an amazing catch. This proved to be vital as West Indies then crumbled to 140 all out and India became World champions for the first time.   

2. England defeat New Zealand in final; Ben Stokes’ controversial boundary- 2019 World Cup

Ben Stokes. (Photo Source: Twitter)

In the greatest World Cup final of all time, England defeated New Zealand at Lord’s in the 2019 World Cup summit clash on boundary count after the match, and then the super over ended in a tie. 

The exciting match saw New Zealand scoring 241/8 after choosing to bat first. Henry Nicholls made 55 and Tom Latham made 47 for the Kiwis, while Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett picked three wickets apiece. 

In the chase, Jos Buttler made 59, but it was Ben Stokes, who kept them in the game with 84*.

In the final over of the match, England needed 15 runs to win. Trent Boult was hit for a six on the third ball by Stokes. Boult again conceded six runs but in a controversial manner. Stokes hit the ball to midwicket and scampered for two.

Martin Guptill aimed the ball to the batting end to catch Stokes short, but instead, his throw hit the bat of a diving Stokes and deflected for a boundary. 

The umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it as a boundary, signaling six runs, adding the two runs that were run by the batters. With England losing two wickets on the next two balls, both run out, the match ended in a tie in a controversial manner.

England then batted first in the super over and scored 15 runs with Stokes and Buttler hitting a boundary each off Boult.

Chasing 15 runs in a super over, Jimmy Neesham hit Jofra Archer for a six on the second ball. The next two balls conceded 4 runs and New Zealand required 2 runs off the final ball. Martin Guptill clipped the ball for an easy single, which was not enough, towards midwicket. Going for a difficult second run, Guptill was run out and the super-over was tied. 

The result was given in favour of England, who had hit more boundaries in their innings. This left the New Zealand players in tears as this was their second consecutive loss in the World Cup finals. This match also caused the ICC to change its rulings.

 

1. MS Dhoni hits a six in the final to make India world champs- 2011 World Cup 

MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The final of the 2011 World Cup was between India and Sri Lanka in Mumbai. No team had won the World Cup while hosting the tournament, but India and Sri Lanka both had that chance as they were the co-hosts. The match started with the toss happening two times and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara winning it in the end. 

Mahela Jayawardene scored a century worthy of the final and Kumar Sangakkara’s 48 helped Sri Lanka post 274/6. In reply, Lasith Malinga hurt India badly, removing both openers quickly. But Gautam Gambhir played the knock of the final, scoring 97 runs, first adding 83 runs with Virat Kohli and then adding the match-winning 109 with MS Dhoni.

Dhoni took over once Gambhir got out with India on 223 runs. He and Yuvraj Singh took India past the finish line. MS Dhoni remained 91* and gave the whole of India their World Cup moment after 28 years. He hit Nuwan Kulasekara for a six off the second ball of the 49th over to win the final for India by 6 wickets. India became world champions for the second time and the first team to win the World Cup as the hosts.

It remains to be seen whether India can repeat this feat once again when the ICC World Cup 2023 begins on October 5.