15 Cricket World Cup Heroes Every Proud Cricket Fan Should Know About
Tim Southee (7-33) for New Zealand, Shikhar Dhawan (137 runs in 146 balls) for India and the latest Gayle storm of 215 runs against Zimbabwe ¨C the World Cup mania has just started to gain momentum and these guys have already made a name for their country. Similarly, there are players who have managed to engrave their names in the cricketing history books. Here are 15 of those men who stood for their country when they needed them the most.
1. Ashish Nehra Vs England, 2003 World Cup
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Defending a modest target of 250 in a crucial World Cup group game against England, Ashish Nehra became the savior for the Indian side. He took his career best figures of 6 wickets for 23 runs. And India won the game. It was one of those occasions where a mediocre bowler made a name for himself.
2. Andy Bichel Vs England, 2003 World Cup
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Another one of the group stage games where Aussies overpowered their Ashes rivals. Well, this time it was because of the amazing bowling performance by medium pacer Andy Bichel. Andy produced a gem of an innings where he single handedly restricted the English side. He took 7 wickets for merely 20 runs. Interestingly, this became his career best figure.
3. Sachin Tendulkar Vs Pakistan, 2003 World Cup
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Hands down, this mesmerizing innings by God himself, has to go down as one of the best World Cup innings ever. Playing against arch rivals Pakistan, Sachin¡¯s anchoring innings of 98 runs strengthened the Indian innings. India posted a total of 298 runs and with extraordinary bowling by Indian seamers made sure of India¡¯s victory!
4. Shane Warne Vs Pakistan, 1999 World Cup
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There are leg spinners and then there is their god, Shane Warne! And they don¡¯t call him the best leg-spinner just like that. And to prove his title, he produced the most amazing innings of his life at the Mecca of Cricket stadium ¨C the Lord¡¯s Cricket Ground in the 1999 World Cup finals. 4 wickets for 22 runs stomped the Pakistani side and Aussies cruised towards their second World Cup.
5. Aravinda De Silva Vs Australia, 1996 World Cup
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Pinnaduwage Aravinda de Silva etched his name in the history books of cricket with his performance in the World Cup finals of 1996. The final was played between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Gaddafi stadium, Lahore where Australia posted a modest total of 245. And in reply Sri Lanka started in a trembling manner with 2-26 inside 10 overs. Then came the magical innings of De Silva of 107 runs, which gave Lankans their sole World Cup trophy!
6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni Vs Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup
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When we talk about the greatest World Cup innings, one just cannot miss out on this particular innings by captain Dhoni himself. When the nation demanded his presences, he went hell bent and proved that why he might just be the best Indian ODI captain ever. He battered the Lankan side in the finals and scored a massive 91 runs to make India victorious in the World Cup finals after 28 years.
7. Yuvraj Singh Vs Australia, 2011 World Cup
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The stage was set perfectly for India to take revenge of the 2003 World Cup. And India¡¯s on-call assassin was Yuvraj Singh for the second Quarterfinals between India and Australia. First with the ball, he took a modest 2 wicket haul along with other bowlers and managed to restrict Australia to 260 runs. And when the situation required him to bat and score, he put an effective 57* runs to make India edge past Australia.
8. Gautam Gambhir Vs Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup
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Dhoni¡¯s role in the World Cup finals was so powerful that this particular innings by Gauti was completely missed out. Chasing a massive target 277, India lost a couple of wickets in the start of the innings. It was Gautam Gambhir 97 runs innings with Virat Kohli and Dhoni put India into a winning positions. Gambhir missed out on his century but that didn¡¯t matter as India went on to lift the World Cup!
9. Kevin O¡¯Brien Vs England, 2011 World Cup
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Giant stopper Ireland will always remember this innings by Kevin O¡¯Brien in the 2011 World Cup. Ireland was facing England in the pool stage game, and England posted a massive 327 runs on the scoreboard. Disregarding the batting strength of Ireland, England opted for casual approach in the bowling which proved extremely fatal for them. With 13 boundaries and 6 sixes, Kevin O¡¯Brien single handedly took Ireland to victory. He scored 113 runs in 123 balls.
10. Clive Lloyd Vs Australia, 1975 World Cup
This one is from the first ever World Cup. Playing for the first time, Australia faced a stringent opponent called the West Indies. And then came in menace, Clive Lloyd from West Indies. He nailed a smashing 102 runs in just 108 balls. And this innings by him is still considered as one of the greatest World Cup knocks ever.
11. Ricky Ponting Vs India, 2003 World Cup
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There is something they say mauling and then there is something that Ricky Ponting did to India in the 2003 World Cup finals. Ponting bashed every Indian bowlers left, right and centre and took the Australian total to a monstrous 359. In this process Ponting smashed 140 runs and made sure that India is at a comfortable distance.
12. Sourav Ganguly Vs Sri Lanka, 1999 World Cup
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Dada¡¯s partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid still remains a World Cup record for any wicket. And this also became of the most enthralling innings for the Ganguly and India. Ganguly scored his career best of 183 runs and took India to a victorious 157 runs stand against Sri Lanka.
13. Kapil Dev Vs Zimbabwe, 1983 World Cup
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A game that became learning experience for every budding cricketer. India flopped to 17 for five before Kapil came to bat. Kapil slammed a 175 runs with 16 fours and 6 sixes from 138 balls. But this was not the end of it; he bowled one of the most economical innings ever. In his 11 overs, he took a wicket and gave away only 32 runs.
14. Imran Khan Vs England, 1992 World Cup
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In the luckiest strides possible for a team, Pakistan saw itself in the 1992 World Cup finals facing England. And the driving force behind the entire team, Imran Khan played a gem of an innings in the finals with both bat and ball. He scored 72 runs and helped Pakistan to post a total of 249. With the ball, he took the final wicket and took Pakistan to lift their maiden World Cup.
15. Adam Gilchrist Vs Sri Lanka, 2007 World Cup
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This brilliant performance by Gilchrist in the finals of the 2007 World Cup will always be remembered by every cricket fan. In a rain-ridden final, Australia scored 281 runs in 38 overs with the help of 149 runs innings by Gilchrist. And innings just nailed the Lankan World Cup dream in the coffin for good. Australia lifted the World Cup for the fourth time.
