Cricket World Cup: 1999

Aussies come back from the dead to win

Australia came back from the dead to win a World Cup which was expected to elude them. Steve Waugh led from the front and Shane Warne turned the semi-final around with some inspired bowling

Milestones & Records

Australia won the World Cup for the 2nd time. They joined West Indies as the only other country to have done so.

Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan became the first ever spinner to take a hat-trick in a WC game. He did this against Zimbabwe at the Oval.

Geoff Allot and Shane Warne both took 20 wickets each in this WC. No other bowler had previously achieved this feat.

Bangladesh recorded their first ever ODI win in a WC game. They upset Pakistan by 62 runs.

Ganguly achieved his highest ODI score by an Indian in a World Cup when he hit an unbeaten 183 against SL at Taunton.

The first ever tied game in a WC was witnessed in the semi-final between South Africa and Australia. Australia made it to the final, having defeated the Proteas earlier in the Super Six stage.

Ganguly and Dravid featured in the first ever 300 run stand in ODIs which was achieved against SL at Taunton. The duo put on 318 for the 2nd wicket.

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Cricket World Cup: 1996

Sri Lanka redefine the ODI game

A new power from the sub-continent rose to the top as Sri Lanka deservingly emerged winners. They decimated the opposition with their 'pinch hitting' tactic successfully employed at the top by Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana.

Milestones & Records

Sri Lanka, who co-hosted the 1996 Cricket World Cup, is the only host to win the tournament (although the final was played in Pakistan). They still remain the only host to have won the WC.

Sri Lanka became the first team ever to successfully chase a total in a WC final. They chased down 241 against Australia with 22 balls to spare.

Kenya was the first associate nation to defeat a test playing nation. They upset West Indies by 73 runs.

Paul Strang of Zimbabwe picked up 5/21 against Kenya and thus became the first ever spinner to take a five wicket haul in a WC game.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score above 500 runs in a single edition of the WC. He ended up with 523 runs at an average of 87.16.

Gary Kirsten's 188* against UAE is the highest individual score made in a WC game. He also became the first South African to score a WC ton.

Mark Waugh of Australia became the first player to score three tons in a single edition of the WC.

Cricket World Cup: 1992

Imran's Cornered Tigers dazzle

Imran Khan inspired his talented side to their maiden World Cup title.

Milestones & Records

Wasim Akram joined Mohinder Amarnath as the only players to get a Man of the Match award in a World Cup final for their bowling performances.

None of the bowlers managed to take a five wicket haul in this edition.

South Africa made their first ever appearance in the World Cup. Kepler Wessels, who had previously played for Australia in the 83 edition, captained the Proteas' side.

Sri Lanka became the first team to chase a target of over 300. They successfully chased down 312 against Zimbabwe.

This was the first World Cup where colored clothing was employed. The rain rule and day-night games were also introduced for the first time.

Cricket World Cup: 1987

Australia under Border emerged victors

The victorious Australian team pose with the trophy. Allan Border was the captain of that side. They defeated England by 7 runs, which happens to be the lowest margin of victory in terms of runs in a WC final.

Milestones & Records

During Sir Vivian Richards' blistering knock of 181 against Sri Lanka, he hit 7 sixes which happened to be the highest number of sixes scored in an innings by a batsman.

David Boon scored five fifties in the 1987 edition, which was the most number of fifties scored by a batsman in a single WC until then.

Sir Vivian Richards' 181 against Sri Lanka became the highest WC score in an innings when he went past Kapil Dev's 175*.

Chetan Sharma took the first ever hat-trick in a WC game against NZ. He dismissed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield - all were out bowled.

For the first time, a 50 over format was employed in World Cups. All the previous editions were 60 over affairs.

Cricket World Cup: 1983

India stun the cricketing world

Every Indian fans' dream came true on a glorious day at Lord's as Kapil's Devils stunned the world with their sensational victory.

Milestones & Records

Winston Davis' 7/51 for West Indies against Australia in a league game was the best figures by a bowler in ODIs at that point of time.

NZ's Martin Snedden became the first bowler to concede more than 100 runs in an ODI. He bowled 12 overs against England and gave away 105 runs.

West Indies suffered their first ever loss in a World Cup game when India beat them by 34 runs in the league stage.

Kapil Dev scored 175* against Zimbabwe which was the highest ODI score then by an individual. He went past NZ's Glenn Turner, who had scored 171 against East Africa in 1975.

Cricket World Cup: 1979

The man aptly named 'Big Bird' tore apart the England batting in the final. In 11 balls he had taken 5 for 4, and England had lost their last eight wickets for 11 runs.

Milestones & Records

The league match between SL and WI was abandoned without a ball being bowled. It was the first time such an instance occured in a World Cup.

Sri Lanka achieved their first ever victory in the World Cup when they upset India by 47 runs in the league stage. India did not win a single game in that World Cup.

Alan Hurst of Australia (5/21 against Canada) and Joel Garner (5/38 in the final against England) were the only two bowlers to take a five wicket haul in this edition of the WC.

Gordon Greenidge (106*) and Sir Vivian Richards (138*) were the only two batsmen to score centuries in the 1979 WC.

Cricket World Cup: 1975

Clive Lloyd holds aloft the inaugural World Cup. His side defeated Australia by 17 runs in the final, on the longest day of the year at Lord's.

Milestones & Records

Gary Gilmour of Australia picked up five wicket hauls in both the semis and the final and is still the only bowler in WC history to have done so.

Glenn Turner of NZ became the first player to score in excess of 150 in the WC during his knock of 171 against East Africa in the league stage.

Sri Lanka was the first team to be bowled out for less than 100 runs in the WC. They were bowled out for 86 against West Indies in their first match.

Australian quickie Dennis Lillee became the first player to take a five wicket haul in the WC. His figures of 5/34 in the league game against Pakistan helped Australia win the game by 73 runs.

Chasing 335 in 60 overs, India only managed to score 132 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the opening game of the 1975 WC against England. Sunil Gavaskar took 174 balls to remain not-out on 36, which is one of the slowest innings ever played.

The first century in a World Cup was scored in the very first game. Dennis Amiss notched up a match-winning 137 as England crushed India by a mammoth margin of 202 runs.