5 World Cup innings by Indians that created a buzz in the cricketing world

India has always produced batting stalwarts who made a mark for themselves in the game. Be it Gavaskar, Sachin or present-day great Virat, India never had a shortage of talents in the batting department. Over the course of the game, India has lifted the Cup twice. Currently, the number one ODI ranked team looks set for the upcoming World Cup.

Let's have a look at the top 5 innings from the Indians in the World Cup.

#5 Sourav Ganguly's 183 vs Sri Lanka

India's World Cup campaign of 1999 didn't start on a good note. With a couple of losses against South Africa and Zimbabwe, India was in a danger of getting knocked out before the super-six stage. It was India's must-win encounter against the defending champions, the Lankans.

After winning the toss, India was put to bat first in a cloudy Taunton morning. Sri Lanka had the first laugh sending Ramesh back in the 5th ball of the game. From there on it was only a rampage that is to be remembered for years to come. Ganguly was watchful of the new ball and reached his fifty off 68 deliveries.

He then slowly paced his innings and reached his ton off 119 deliveries. It was no stopping for him thereon. He made a mockery of the Sri Lankan bowling and took on some of their greats, Vaas and Muralitharan. For the next 83 runs, it just took him 39 deliveries with a couple of them landing outside Taunton. Dravid also made his mark with a brilliant 145 off 129 deliveries. As a result, India posted a mammoth total of 373 and sealed the game with 157 runs.

Match Summary

India 373/6 (S Ganguly 183, R Dravid 145, Wickramasinghe 3/65)

Sri Lanka 216 all-out (P Silva 56, A Ranatunga 42, R Singh 5/31)

#4 Gautam Gambhir's 97 vs Sri Lanka

Gautam Gambhir is considered to be the crisis man for the Indian cricket team. Often people forget his contributions in some of the most vital games, and 2011 final is one of them. Sri Lanka opted to bat first and posted a healthy total of 274 on the day of the final, with Mahela Jayawardene scoring a match-winning 103.

India needed a good partnership to set the tone of the match, but Malinga had other plans. Both Sehwag and Sachin were back in the hut in the first 6 overs. Gambhir slowly poised his game and steadied the innings with Virat. He reached his fifty off 56 balls and made sure that India was back on track. In came Dhoni next, after Virat's dismissal and the coupled stretched a century partnership before Gambhir got knocked off 3 short of a ton. It was a standout performance and one of the most underrated innings that people tend to forget.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka 274/6 (M Jayawardene 103*, K Sangakkara 48, Yuvraj 2/49)

India 277/4 (MS Dhoni 91*, G Gambhir 97, L Malinga 2/42)

#3 Sachin Tendulkar's 98 vs Pakistan

98 (75 balls, 12 fours, 1 six), Centurion 2003

India-Pakistan rivalry and the tension it brings is amazing. India and Pakistan locked horns at Centurion, in the 36th match of the ICC event in 2003. Waqar Younis, Pakistan's captain won the toss and decided to bat first in the high intense contest. The dangerous Saeed Anwar played a composed knock of 101 and helped Pakistan to set a par target of 274 for the Indians.

Sachin Tendulkar, the master blaster just took off from ball one. It was some surreal hitting against the world's leading pace attack which consisted of Akram, Waqar, and Akhtar. He never allowed them to settle in and bossed his way to fifty off just 37 deliveries. He was caught two short of a ton, but already had done the damage and made sure that India won and bagged 4 points. Sachin's brilliant 98 guided India to yet another World Cup win against the arch-rivals Pakistan.

Match Summary

Pakistan 273/7 (S Anwar 101, Y Khan 32, Z Khan 2/46)

India 276/4 (S Tendulkar 98,Yuvraj 50*, W Younis 2/71)

**#2 Kapil Dev's 175* vs Zimbabwe**

175*(138 balls, 16 fours, 6 sixes), Tunbridge Wells 1983

India won the toss and elected to bat first. It was a must-win contest for India to stay in the tournament. At those times, people believed in posting totals on the board and bowling out the opposition. Kapil had the same belief.

But in no time India was reduced to 4/9 and, in came the greatest Indian all-rounder and captain Kapil Dev. Within no time India were 5/17. It seemed India would be bowled out for less than 100. But Kapil had some other plans. He thwacked the Zimbabwean bowlers to all parts of the ground and remained unbeaten on 175, a record that stood for years before Ganguly's 183 in 1999.

His innings of 175 is still counted as one of the greatest performances in the history of the game. Apart from his 175, the next best score from the Indian outfit was of Binny (22). On the back of his brilliant performance, India ended up with 266 on the board which was a par score.

Match Summary

India 266/8 (Kapil Dev 175*, R Binny 22, P Rawson 3/47)

Zimbabwe 235 all-out (P Rawson 73, R Brown 35, M Lal 3/42 )

**#1 M.S. Dhoni's 91* vs Sri Lanka**

91* (79 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes), Wankhede 2011

As cool as a cucumber, MS Dhoni raised several eyebrows when he walked ahead of in-form Yuvraj Singh at no. 4. India was three down for 114 and required 160 odd runs to seal the game in 2011. Until then, Dhoni had only managed to score 150 runs in the tournament and was having an off-time with the bat.

To maintain the left-right combination MS promoted himself up the order. He began slowly by rotating the strike and taking singles at will. Gambhir at the other end was well set and the duo stitched in a match-winning partnership of 109 before the later was dismissed for 97. Dhoni continued with authority and sealed the game and the trophy with a six. He remained unbeaten on 91 and was adjudged as the Player of the Match.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka 274/6 (M Jayawardene 103*, K Sangakkara 48, Yuvraj 2/49)

India 277/4 (MS Dhoni 91*, G Gambhir 97, L Malinga 2/42)