3 Major ODI World Cup Upsets:It is the ODI World Cup year. Despite their being questions over the ODI format the ODI World Cup continues to be the flagship cricket tournament. The last edition of the World Cup in 2019 was arguably the finest edition.
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It was a closely fought tournament and this had a lot to do with the format of the World Cup. Only the top ten teams contested and each one had to play the other once in the league stage. There was debate over this structure but it sure provided for intense competition.
The 2023 World Cup promises to be no different:
It will continue to be a ten-team affair in this edition of the ODI World Cup too. The top eight teams ensure direct qualification with the host nation granted an automatic berth. This leaves two spots for the other nations to compete and conquer. The exhaustive World Cup qualifiers mean only the best ones move to the main stage.
Zimbabwe defeated West Indies in the qualifiers sparking a huge upset. The West Indies might not make it through to the World Cup. This upset might not be limited to the qualifiers with the main edition also being a platform for more such heists.
We look at similar upsets over the past editions of the ODI World Cup:
#1 Zimbabwe vs South Africa, 1999 World Cup league match
The Zimbabwean side is known to cause upsets at the biggest of stages. They recently humbled Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe had also shocked Australia in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Their giant-killing exercise started in the 1999 ODI World Cup where they were one of the best sides of the tournament.
A determined Zimbabwean side went on to defeat the mighty Proteas. It was this loss against Zimbabwe that cost South Africa the World Cup. They would have never imagined losing to their fellow African nation in a tournament like the World Cup.
#2 Bangladesh vs Pakistan, 1999 World Cup league match
It was Bangladesh’s debut World Cup tournament. They were expected to win a solitary game against fellow minnows Scotland. Bangladesh did beat Scotland to open their account. No one in their wildest dreams though would have thought about their second win in that edition.
Bangladesh defeated Pakistan who were one of the tournament favourites. The Pakistani side had been unbeaten until that point. But they came up short against Bangladesh who defeated them by a fairly big margin of 62 runs. The tigers had arrived on the world stage!
#1 India vs West Indies, 1983 World Cup final
The odds were stacked 1-66 against India ahead of the World Cup. A spirited Indian side under the leadership of Kapil Dev rewrote history. They had defeated the two-time defending champions West Indies in the group stage earlier. The side carried that confidence into the final.
India though was bowled out for 183 and cricket experts predicted an easy Windies win. The Indian bowlers and fielders had other plans. They put out all their energies to lift their maiden World Cup. India’s win was a watershed moment in cricketing history
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