Can we see another World Cup like in 1996? This is the discussion between Sri Lankan cricket fans. But it is important for cricket fans to understand that it is not the discussion of the world as well as the cricket-playing countries. In every country in the world, every person has different expectations about the World Cup. It is an undisputed fact that a tournament with a hot style of play is the expectation of every true cricket lover.
1975 First World Cup
The West Indies won the Cricket World Cup which started in 1975. That is by defeating Australia. On June 21, 1975, the first World Cup final held at the Lord’s in England was a new experience for the cricket fans of the world. However, Australia and West Indies qualified for the final. In the final of the 60-ball tournament, West Indies, who batted first scored 291 runs for 08 wickets and in the reply innings, Australia could score only 274 runs.
1979 World Cup II
Then in 1979, the second World Cup cricket tournament was also held in England, and it was also a 60-over tournament. There, the West Indies again managed to qualify for the finals and the opponents were the English team. However, England was unable to get the West Indies who scored 286 runs for 9 wickets while batting first. They were able to score only 194 runs. Accordingly, West Indies managed to win the World Cup for the second time in a row.
However, it is an irony of fate that West Indies, who won the first World Cup, have to leave the World Cup in the qualifying round of 2023.
1983 Third World Cup
The third World Cup in 1983 was also held in England, and even though the West Indies managed to qualify for the finals, they had to become runners-up there. The Indian team, who batted first, lost all their wickets for 183 runs, and the hope of winning the World Cup for the third consecutive time was lit up for the West Indian team. However, in the 52nd over of the match which was a 60-over match, all the wickets of the West Indian team were reduced to 140 runs, so India won the title in the third World Cup.
1987 Fourth World Cup
In 1987, the fourth World Cup was held in India, and the final of the tournament took place at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta. Australia and England faced each other in the match on November 8, 1987. At the time of this match, cricket had become one of the most popular sporting events, and it is also special that an advanced technical strategy was used for it. Accordingly, changing the tradition of 60 overs, it was revised to 50 overs. However, Australia managed to win the fourth game by 7 runs.
1992 Fifth World Cup
In 1992, the fifth World Cup cricket tournament was held. The last match of that series was played between Pakistan and England on March 25, 1992, at the Melbourne Stadium in Australia. The Pakistan team won the match by 22 runs and managed to take the World Cup to their country.
The 1996 Sixth World Cup taught the world a lesson
1996 was the moment when Sri Lankan cricket history was rewritten. The Sri Lankan team led by Arjuna Ranatunga managed to win the World Cup as no one believed. One of the highlights of this tournament was that Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana combination introduced a new style of batting to the world. Sanath Jayasuriya received the title of ‘Master Blast’ after this tournament. Sri Lanka and Australia qualified for the final on 17 March 1996 at the Lahore Stadium in Pakistan. In the previous 5 World Cup finals, the team that batted first won and Sri Lanka broke that tradition and defeated Australia by 7 wickets. Australia, who batted first, scored 241 runs for 7 wickets at the end of the 50 overs, and Sri Lanka won the World Cup by losing only 03 wickets and chasing the target in the 46th over.
1999 Seventh World Cup
Then on June 20, 1999, the final match of the 7th Cricket World Cup was held at Lord’s Stadium in England, between Australia and Pakistan. Pakistan’s scoreboard was limited to 132 due to poor playing style. Accordingly, the Australian team could easily win the World Cup.
2003 and 2007 World Cups
Also, in 2003, Australia defeated India by 125 runs and in 2007, they defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs. On March 23, 2003, Australia became the world champion for the third time with a huge victory of 125 runs in the match held in Johannesburg, and the World Cup held in the year 2007 was seen as an opportunity for Sri Lanka to overcome bad luck in the face of good fortune.
Can be done. In the 2007 World Cup, rain interrupted the start of the final and the Australian team, who batted first, scored 281 runs for the loss of 04 wickets in 38 overs. The Sri Lankan team had a target of 269 runs to win in 36 overs due to rain again before starting the reply innings. But there, Sri Lanka could score only 215 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
2011 Tenth World Cup
In 2011, the world’s attention was drawn to a World Cup tournament that heated up cricket again. In the same tournament, Sri Lanka again qualified for the finals, and in the finals held in Mumbai on April 2, 2011, the Sri Lankan team batted first and scored 274 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. However, due to the success of Gautam Gambhir and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India won by 6 wickets. That victory was also the second World Cup victory for the Indian team.
Eleventh World Cup 2015
The 11th World Cup cricket tournament was held in 2015. The final match between Australia and New Zealand was held on March 29, 2015, at the Melbourne Stadium in Australia, and it was the first time that New Zealand played in a World Cup final. However, it turned into a temporary happiness and Australia managed to win the World Cup for the 5th time with a massive defeat to New Zealand. Batting first, the New Zealand team could score only 183 runs in 45 overs. Australia won the World Cup with an easy win of 7 wickets.
The breathless twelfth World Cup 2019
Looking forward to the 2023 World Cup, it is important to pay more attention to the 2019 World Cup. In 2019, England, who introduced the game of cricket to the world, recorded the first victory in the history of the One Day World Cup in 44 years. England managed to record their victory against New Zealand after the Super over which was sent with the score tied in the final match of the 2019 World Cup. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bat first. Accordingly, at the end of the scheduled 50 overs, New Zealand scored 241 runs for the loss of 8 wickets and gave England the opportunity to bat with a winning mentality.
The first 4 wickets of the England team fell within 86 runs, and Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, who were stable in the field, built a 110-run partnership for the 5th wicket of the England innings and turned the game around. However, the New Zealand bowlers managed to release the ball to the most responsible batsman at an exciting time when the English players were able to blow a target of 24 runs in 12 balls. The result was that the fast England innings slowed down quite a bit. Accordingly, England’s target for victory in the last over is 15 runs. Trent Boult bowled the last over, and although he managed to bowl the first two balls of the last over, Ben Stokes hit a six in the third ball to give England the advantage again. In the fourth ball of the last over, Martin Guptill, who saved a shot from Ben Stoke near the boundary, returned the ball to the wicketkeeper, but it went beyond the fielders to the boundary, and England’s goal was limited to 6 runs. However, only 2 runs were given in the last two balls and at the end of the 50 overs, both teams were tied.
However, in the Super over, both the teams scored 15 runs each and it was tied, which changed the history of cricket to a new state. In such a case, according to the rules of cricket, the team that hits the highest number of sixes and fours throughout the match, including the Super over, wins. In this match, England had hit 26 sixes and fours, while New Zealand had recorded only 17 sixes and fours. Accordingly, England, who introduced the game of cricket to the world, created the opportunity to win a World Cup for the first time in the history of 44 years of cricket. This match will be written in history as the first time in the history of one-day matches that a super bowl was implemented.
2023 World Cup?
Who will win the 2023 World Cup? Answering this question has become a very difficult matter. All the teams are looking forward to winning the crown for their country. Accordingly, making predictions is very difficult.
However, former West Indies star Chris Gayle has expressed his opinion regarding the 4 teams that will enter the semi-finals of this year’s World Cup. He has indicated that India, Pakistan, England and Australia will enter the semi-finals.
