Remembering the 3 best matches of the 2011 World Cup

The air of excitement around the 2023 World Cup is palpable as defending champions England get set to take on New Zealand in the rematch of the 2019 final in Ahmedabad on Thursday, October 5.

The tournament returns to India for the first time since 2011, when the hosts so famously hoisted the trophy in front of a raucous crowd at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

The 2011 World Cup witnessed the top three Asian sides - India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan make the final four, along with New Zealand.

While the India-Pakistan semi-final and the India-Sri Lanka final were well-contested games, many fans will argue that India's real litmus test was the quarter-final win against the then-three-time World Champions Australia.

Despite all three games being among the most memorable for Indian fans due to their significance, there were other more closely fought clashes throughout the league stages of the 2011 edition.

As we look ahead and hope for another blockbuster tournament this year, let us relive the three best matches of the 2011 World Cup.

# 1 India vs England - The only tied game of the 2011 World Cup

Tendulkar and Strauss lit up Bangalore with magnificent centuries.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore often promises a high-scoring game with plenty of sixes and a close finish like the India-Pakistan quarter-final in the 1996 World Cup.

Fast forward 15 years, and the ground lived up to all those billings in the India-England World Cup 2011 clash. Both teams were coming off comfortable wins against Bangladesh and Netherlands, respectively, in their tournament openers.

Despite being renowned as a chasing ground, MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. The Men in Blue got off to a rollicking start with openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar before the former was dismissed for a quick-fire 35 off 26 deliveries.

The innings then revolved around a breathtaking 47th ODI century by Tendulkar and a pair of well-compiled half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. Add a cameo of 31 from the skipper Dhoni at the end, and India finished with a massive 338 in their batting innings.

In reply, England were off to a similar start, reaching 68 in less than ten overs, thanks to a terrific partnership between Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss.

Despite losing Pietersen and Jonathan Trott in a relatively short span, England reached a commanding position at 111/2 in the 17th over. Strauss then added a stroke-filled 170-run partnership with Ian Bell to stun the Chinnaswamy crowd and propel England into the ascendency.

However, the hosts were not ready to give in by fighting back through ace pacer Zaheer Khan's three-wicket spell in two overs to reduce England to 285/5 in the 45th over.

A seesaw climax saw fortunes fluctuating in both directions, with the visitors needing 14 off the final over with two wickets in hand. Ajmal Shahzad's stunning six off the third ball brought the equation to five needed off three deliveries. Yet, Munaf Patel held his nerves to concede only four, including a single off the final delivery, to have the thriller finish in a tie.

Skipper Strauss was the Player of the Match for his riveting 158 off 145 deliveries that all but won England the game. The high-scoring thriller early in the tournament set things up for what ended up being a memorable World Cup.

# 2 England vs Ireland - Monumental upset of the tournament

Ireland scripted a remarkable run-chase to stun the English.

England were back at it with another thriller at the Chinnaswamy Stadium just days after the confidence-boosting run-chase against favorites India. However, in this instance, they were at the wrong end of the biggest shocker of the 2011 World Cup, losing a final-over finish to Ireland.

Ireland were coming off a 27-run defeat to Bangladesh in their opening game and appeared on course to suffer a second straight loss when England posted a massive 327/8 in their 50 overs.

Despite a few batters getting off to starts, wickets at regular intervals meant the Irish slipped to 111/5 in the 25th over. With a crushing victory for England expected, Ireland all-rounder Kevin O'Brien produced one of the most celebrated World Cup centuries.

The big-hitting batter smashed the fastest World Cup century off a mere 50 deliveries and finished with 113 off 63 deliveries to stun the England side and their fans. O'Brien was adequately supported by Alex Cusack (47 off 58) and John Mooney (33* off 30), who finished off the incredible run-chase.

It remains one of the best run-chases in the World Cup and one of the more staggering comeback wins and upsets in cricketing history.

The game also summed up England's up-and-down campaign, where they lost to Ireland and Bangladesh yet produced a win against South Africa and a tie against India.

Meanwhile, Ireland continued their trend of upsetting strong opponents in World Cups, following the ousting of Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup.

# 3 India vs. South Africa - The two pre-tournament favorites produce a final over humdinger

South Africa inflicted India's only loss in the 2011 World Cup.

Despite Australia being the three-time defending World Champions, India and South Africa came into the 2011 World Cup as the favorites, being the top two sides across formats.

The two teams battled it out in an intense Test and ODI series in South Africa ahead of the World Cup, with the Test series ending in a draw and the ODI series going in favor of the hosts 3-2.

Pitted as the marquee battle of the group stages, the teams played out a nail-biting final-over thriller in Nagpur.

Winning the toss and batting first, the hosts were off to a blistering start, with openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar pulverizing the Proteas bowlers for 142 by the 18th over.

While Sehwag was finally dismissed for 73 off 66 deliveries by the part-time spin of Faf du Plessis, Tendulkar continued on his merry way to notch up his 48th ODI century and second of the 2011 World Cup.

However, the South Africans struck back just as it looked like India would score more than 400 at 267/1 in the 40th over. Led by the legendary Dale Steyn, who finished 5/50 in 9.4 overs, South Africa picked up the final nine Indian wickets for 29 runs to dismantle India to 296 all-out in the 49th over.

The Indian batting collapse ensured Graeme Smith's men had the slightest openings to produce a famous win. Hashim Amla (61 off 72), Jacques Kallis (69 off 88), and AB de Villiers (52 off 39) scored contrasting half-centuries to help the Proteas complete a magnificent run chase with two balls to spare.

Requiring 13 runs off the final over, spin-bowling all-rounder Robin Peterson smashed Ashish Nehra for a boundary and a maximum before hitting the match-winning four with a single needed of three deliveries.

Unfortunately for cricket lovers, a much-anticipated final between the sides did not transpire, with the Proteas suffering a shock quarter-final defeat to New Zealand to add to their knockout woes.