Greatest World Cup Matches

The World Cup. The pinnacle of all limited overs cricket. Despite the endless cricket we see all year round, the World Cup is still one of the prized possessions in the entire game.

Win the final and you’re one of the immortals. Like Kirti Azad. (His ODI career spanned just five years.)

The next World Cup, the 12th edition, will be held in England, over May, June and July of 2019. The last one in 2015 was won by hosts Australia, who defeated their neighbors New Zealand. 2011 was, of course, India’s World Cup. Who can ever forget MS Dhoni’s six that won the final? That moment will go down in the annals of cricket as the most emphatic winning blow in a world cup final.

The World Cup gained importance in India after Kapil’s Devils won the trophy in 1983. Indeed, cricket itself rose to prominence following that seminal victory. Prior to that, cricket, while a very popular sport in India was not quite as religiously followed as it is these days. Similarly, Sri Lanka’s win in the 1996 world cup against Australia, after decimating India in the semi-finals, also marked a new era in cricket. 1996 onwards, the three subcontinental teams were no more the minnows of world cricket.

Listen on...