Cricket World Cup History: 3 surprising records held by Indians in the tournament history

Team India is one of the successful teams in the history of Cricket World Cup. Lead by the young captain Kapil Dev, India created history in 1983 defeating the defending champions West Indies in the finals. The victory in the finals scripted a new chapter & changed the way cricket was regarded in the country.

In 2003, led by aggressive skipper Sourav Ganguly and anchored by the maestro Sachin Tendulkar India reached the finals. It's a different story that they were blown away by the mighty Aussies. It didn't take long for India to erase the memories and lay their hands on the silverware 8 years later. The MS Dhoni-led side lifted the trophy for India after 28 years.

The squad for the 2019 world cup is very balanced and filled with match winners. Team India would hope to bring the third trophy home with a successful campaign. India expected break few records in the upcoming edition. However, Over the years there have been many records created by Indian players in the world cup and there are a few surprising records that Indians have in the mega event which you might not know.

Here's a look at some such records:

#1 Bishan Bedi's maiden overs:

Bishan Bedi

The left-arm orthodox from Punjab, nicknamed as Bishu was part of the famous Indian spin quartet (Himself, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, & Srinivas Venkataraghavan) during the 1970s. Bedi had very impressive bowling variations & often troubled batsmen with the ball in hand.

He played less ODI cricket due to the prominence Test cricket had at that time. He featured for India in the 1975 world cup and has bowled two maiden overs in a single game against East Africa. Even today, no other bowler has achieved that feat in the World Cup.

#2 Sourav Ganguly's partnership records:

Sourav Ganguly

Famously tagged as the 'God on the off side' & 'Dada', Sourav Ganguly was a warhorse on the field for Team India. The first word that comes to our mind when we hear his name is 'aggression'. He was a fighter and wore aggression on his sleeves during his captaincy days for Team India. He was the captain who endeavoured to win matches overseas after the Late Ajit Wadekar.

He was one of the most elegant left-handed stroke makers India has produced. In his ODI career spanning 311 matches, Ganguly has an average of 41 with 22 centuries to his name. Ganguly has featured in three world cup tournaments for India from 1999 to 2007, captaining the side in the 2003 edition.

Ganguly has a unique record of being involving in three 200+ partnerships in World cup history. His first and highest partnership of 318 runs came alongside Rahul Dravid in 1999 World Cup. The second one of 244 runs against Namibia in 2003 world cup alongside Sachin Tendulkar. The third partnership of 202 runs alongside Virender Sehwag came against Bermuda in 2007 edition.

#3 Sachin Tendulkar's centuries at a young age

Sachin Tendulkar

It's famously said that the Master Blaster holds nearly 50% of the records in ODI cricket. Sachin Tendulkar was a gifted cricketer who did wonders for India from a very young age. He debuted for the national side at a tender age of 16 years. He had supreme batting abilities which left even the best bowlers to lose sleep during his prime time.

He has featured in World Cups for India six times, most by a player alongside Pakistan's Javed Miandad. His successful 2003 world cup campaign with the bat is cherished by the fans even today. Sachin has given the cricket a new dimension in India and has inspired billions on his way to greatness. Playing for India from a very young age also put him into the World Cup squad of the team during 1992 world cup.

Sachin is the only cricketer to have won two Man of the Match awards before the age of 20 in World cups.