Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 8 wickets – here are some of greatest upsets in Cricket World Cup history

England captain Jos Buttler looked glum after their defeat by Afghanistan (Manish Swarup/AP)

Here are the five big upsets in the Cricket World Cup:

India end West Indies’ reign in 1983

India defended their below-par total of 183 against cricketing giants West Indies at Lord’s in 1983 to clinch their maiden Cricket World Cup. Kapil Dev-led India won the final by 43 runs as they stunned two-time defending champions West Indies, having walked into the tournament with just 17 wins in their first nine years as a One-Day International (ODI) team.

The talented West Indian pace department of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, and Malcolm Marshall spared no one as Kris Srikkanth top scored for India with his knock of 38 runs. But then, the Indian duo of Mohinder Armanath (3 for 12) and Madan Lal (3 for 31) steamrolled the flashy West Indies batsmen, with Viv Richards managing the top score of 33 for the side.

Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev, second from left, hugs Indian bowler Madan Lal while the rest of the Indian team celebrate at Lord’s after Gavaskar had caught West Indian, Larry Gomes, for five of the bowling of Madan Lal during the Prudential World Cup Final in London, 25 June 1983. India won the World Cup for the first time in 1983

Zimbabwe shock England in World Cup 1992

Approximately 6,000 spectators were in attendance at Lavington Sports Ground in Albury, a city that sits on the New South Wales and Victoria border, when Zimbabwe shocked England. Everything looked in control for the Englishmen when their bowlers, taking advantage of the favourable conditions, restricted the Zimbabweans to 77 for 6 before bowling them out for 134.

Defending an under-par total of 134 against a dominant side like England never looked on the cards for Zimbabwe. But when the English skipper Graham Gooch fell lbw to Eddo Brandes on the first delivery of their innings, the opponents thought maybe they still had a chance. Brandes, the eventual Player of the Match, claimed four wickets for just 21 runs in his spell of 10 overs as the Englishmen were cleaned up in just 19 overs, nine runs short of their target.

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Kenya overpower mighty West Indians in 1996

Kenya vanquished the mighty West Indians at the World Cup of 1996, in what was regarded as one of the greatest upsets of the time. Batting first, Kenya managed to put up just 166 runs on the board. A chase for the Caribbean side looked like a cakewalk in Pune, but the script for the day turned out to be in the African side’s favour.

Opening bowler of Kenya, Rajab Ali, made an early and important breakthrough as he dismissed West Indies’ key man Brian Lara for just eight runs. Only Roger Harper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who took 48 balls to score 19 runs, touched double figures for the West Indies who were all out for just 93, handing Kenya a massive and memorable 73-run victory.

World Cup 2007 – a campaign of upsets

The World Cup 2007 witnessed more than one upset, two of those inflicted by Bangladesh. The Bangla Tigers defeated South Africa and India, while Ireland knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. The Bangla Tigers defended their just enough total of 251 against South Africa, while they produced an all-round performance against Team India in Port of Spain.

After bowling a star-studded India out for 191, thanks to a four-wicket haul from Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh chased down the target with nine deliveries and five wickets to spare. Team India later lost to Sri Lanka as well and were eliminated from the tournament.

The World Cup 2007 was also scarred by the passing away of Pakistan’s head coach Bob Woolmer, who died suddenly in Jamaica, just a few hours after his team lost to Ireland and were out of the tournament.

England And Odi World Cup Upsets:-
• 1992:- Lost To Pakistan 🇵🇰
• 2003:- Lost To Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
• 2011:- Lost To Ireland 🇮🇪
• 2015:- Lost To Bangladesh 🇧🇩
• 2019:- Lost To Pakistan 🇵🇰#ENGvsAFG pic.twitter.com/WRXILLVdS7

Ireland assault England in 2011

England have suffered shocking losses against a lower-ranked side more than once in the World Cup over the years. In 2011, their neighbours Ireland stunned them by chasing down a mammoth total of 328. Kevin O’Brien played a historic innings, scoring the then-fastest century in ODI World Cups, taking Ireland to a famous three-wicket win at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium.

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