3 instances when an underdog team stunned India in the World Cup

Our wait is almost over as the ICC World Cup 2019 is all set to begin on 30th May. The tournament will take place in England and Wales, with 10 nations from all over the globe competing for the prestigious trophy.

India will be heading into the World Cup as joint favorites along with hosts England. With two World Cup wins and several appearances in the finals and semifinals, India are the second most successful team in World Cup history, only behind Australia.

However, India have had their share of failures as well. Here, we take a look at three instances when an underdog team stunned India in a World Cup encounter.

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#1 Zimbabwe - 1999 World Cup

Zimbabwe after their win against India in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

A minute of silence was observed before the match owing to the death of SachinTendulkar's father. He obviously had to go back home and did not play the match.

Neil Johnson and Grant Flower started the proceedings for Zimbabwe with the bat. Johnson departed early with just seven runs to his name, while Paul Strang who was sent in as the pinch hitter was also dismissed for 18. Murray Goodwin didn't stay at the crease for long and Zimbabwe were reeling at 87-3 at one stage.

Andy Flower was more than happy to join his brother at the crease and the two stitched together an important partnership for Zimbabwe. After the departure of Grant Flower, skipper Alastair Campbell joined Andy Flower and the pair put on 60 runs for the 5th wicket.

They would have been eyeing a target in excess of 270, before three quick wickets shattered their hopes. However, 51 extras helped them to a competitive total of 252.

India were penalized for their slow over rate and four overs were deducted from their innings. They suffered a further setback when Sourav Ganguly departed for just 13. Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin also got out early.

India's fightback came through Sadagoppan Ramesh and Ajay Jadeja, who added 99 runs together for the 5th wicket and got things back on track. However, a mini collapse followed and both the set players got out.

Robin Singh and Nayan Mongia added 44 runs and things were looking comfortable for India until Mongia departed for 28. Henry Olonga was bowling beautifully, and bowled Srinath with India needing four runs for victory. Prasad fell off the very next ball and Zimbabwe registered an improbable victory.

Zimbabwe: 252 for 9 wickets (50 overs), India: 249 all out (45 overs) (CWC 1999)

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#2 Sri Lanka - 1996 World Cup

Sri Lanka after their win against India in the 1996 World Cup semi-final

Sri Lanka were labelled the underdogs before the start of the tournament. However, they played an aggressive brand of cricket and stormed into the semifinals.

Sri Lanka had defeated India earlier in the tournament, but as the match was going to be played in Kolkata and Sri Lanka had never been a part of a knockout game before, India were considered clear favorites to win the match.

India won the toss and elected to field first. It was a dream start for them as Sri Lanka lost both their openers in the very first over of their innings.

At one stage Sri Lanka were tottering at 36 for 3 and it looked like it was going to be an easy win for India.

But Aravinda de Silva had other plans, and he soon started dismissing the ball to all parts of the ground. He brought up his 50 in no time and was threatening to take the game away from India when Anil Kumble was brought into the attack and he bowled De Silva for 66.

Roshan Mahanama was joined by captain Arjuna Ranatunga and the pair put on 83 runs for the 6th wicket. Sachin Tendulkar was then given the ball and he dismissed the Sri Lankan skipper for 35 runs.

Some useful cameos down the order by Hashan Tillakaratne and Chaminda Vaas helped Sri Lanka reach a competitive score of 251.

India lost their first wicket with only 8 runs on the board, but Tendulkar was once again in magnificent touch. He found an ally in Sanjay Manjrekar and together they put on 90 runs for the third wicket.

The Little Master completed his half century and looked good for a century, before Sanath Jayasuriya got the ball to trickle down the leg side off his legs. Tendulkar lost his bearings for a minute and Romesh Kaluwitharana quickly gathered the ball and whipped the bails off.

Mohammad Azharuddin got out cheaply without disturbing the scorers. India were choking, and were soon reduced to 120 for 8.

That was when the crowd went berserk and the match referee had no option but to call off the match and award Sri Lanka the game by default.

They eventually went on to defeat Australia in the final and lift the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

Sri Lanka: 251 for 8 wickets (50 overs), India: 120 for 8 (34.1 overs) (CWC 1996)

#3 Bangladesh - 2007 World Cup

Mushfiqur Rahim (left) and Mohammad Ashraful (right)

India were playing Bangladesh in their first match of the World Cup. Captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and chose to bat first.

Mashrafe Mortaza dismissed Virender Sehwag with only six runs on the board. Robin Uthappa was his next victim as he slashed at a ball outside off stump and was caught at point. Sachin Tendulkar failed to make much of an impact as he too was dismissed early with only seven runs to his name.

Mohammad Rafique got rid of the Indian skipper and India were in serious trouble at 72 for 4. Sourav Ganguly was then joined by Yuvraj Singh at the crease and the pair put on 85 runs for the fifth wicket.

Abdur Razzak dismissed Yuvraj for 47, and Ganguly's defiant knock of 66 came to an end soon too.

India collapsed after that as MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar all got out for a duck. Munaf Patel and Zaheer Khan scored some handy runs towards the end and took the score to 191.

Bangladesh were always in control of the chase. Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan scored a fifty each and Bangladesh won the match with 5 wickets remaining.

The underdogs had managed to defeat a team filled with superstars, making it a truly memorable victory for them.

India: 191 all out (49.3 overs), Bangladesh: 192 for 5 (48.3 overs) (CWC 2007)