This section of our website would give you a brief history of Cricket World Cup. Cricket World Cup history has been fascinating and has witnessed some teams getting transformed from Majors to minnows and vice versa. The rich history of Cricket World Cup includes some interesting facts, figures and memories.
Cricket World Cup history starts from the year 1975, when the first World Cup was held in England. Eight teams participated in that World Cup and it was a huge success. West Indies were the winner in the inaugural World Cup. The final was between West Indies and Australia. West Indies won the game by 18 runs.
Cricket World Cup history then witnessed the second World Cup in the year 1979, once again in England. Again eight teams participated in this event and once again West Indies emerged as the winners. The format was same as 1975. Final was between West Indies and England. West Indies beat England by 92 runs.
History of Cricket World Cup then includes one of the most remarkable chapters in the Cricket World Cup history – India defeating the mighty West Indies. Out of the eight teams, only Zimbabwe was the minnows, Sri Lanka already had the Test status in the year 1982. Zimbabwe defeated the mighty Australians, but India was the real star of the tournament, as they come out from a situation of 17-5 against the minnows Zimbabwe and then managed to defeat West Indies by 43 runs.
The history of Cricket World Cup took a step outside England, as the tournament was hosted for the first time outside England. India and Pakistan were the joint hosts of the tournament. The final was between Australia and England and the former managed to run away with the title by just 7 runs. This is still the closest World Cup final, when one considers the World Cup of ODIs.
Cricket World Cup history got richer and richer, as the world entered into the fifth World Cup. This time, the hosts were Australia and New Zealand. With this, another venue was added in the history of Cricket World Cup. Pakistan was the new world champions, pinning England in a tense final that ended in a 22 run Pakistani victory. Imran Khan got retired after winning the World Cup for his team. This time, the number of teams was nine.
With the 1996 World Cup, history of Cricket World Cup was once again made on the pitches of the sub continent, as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were the joint hosts of the World Cup. This World Cup got a new winner in Sri Lanka. The minnows of the Cricketing world suddenly grew up to the levels of the Big Boys of the game. They remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, as they got a walkover against Australia and West Indies, as both the teams refused to play in the island country due to security reasons. Sri Lanka though, showed what it takes to beat the best team of the tournament, as they won the finals by 6 wickets against the Australians.
Cricket World Cup history saw another U turn, when the World Cup returned to England after a span of 16 years. As the trend started from the last World Cup that Australia would be playing against a team from Sub continent, Pakistan was the finalist this time. Though, this wasn’t their day as they were bundled out for a mere 123 by the mighty Australians. This World Cup victory marks the reign of Australian Cricket over the world of Cricket that lasted for almost a decade.
In 2003, Cricket World Cup history unfolds the drama in yet another venue – South Africa. The World Cup saw India’s reformation into one of the stronger sides of the world, which got defeated to only Australia, twice; once in the league games and the second one was the finals. India lost the finals to Australia by a huge margin of 122 runs.
History of Cricket World Cup unfolded its last chapter till date in yet another venue – West Indies. The group of island countries marked the reign of another Aussie victory in the World Cup finals. Again, the trend set back in 1996 World Cup with the finals between Australia and a sub continent country, continued as this time the finalists was Sri Lanka. Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs to complete their third straight World Cup victory and fourth World Cup victory overall.
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Ahir Bharat
