World Cup History: India's leading run-scorers in the tournament

The ICC Cricket World Cup is all set to return for its 12th edition, beginning in England on 30 May. The tournament is hosted by England & Wales jointly and will have the 'Big Final' played on 14th of July. 10 teams will fight against each other across 11 venues during the mega event.

India will be a strong contender for the trophy this year too. The team has won it previously on two occasions - in 1983 and 2011. While Kapil Dev's men wrote history in England in 1983, MS Dhoni won it before the home crowd in 2011. Will Virat Kohli make the tally three in 2019?

India's other closest journey to the coveted prize was in 2003 when Sourav Ganguly and Co fell short by 125 runs to Australia in the final. The team had also impressed in the 1987, 1996 and 2015 World Cups where they made it to the semi-finals.

Keeping aside the team results, the Men in Blue have never failed to produce individual masterclasses at the big platform. Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh are Indian players who have received the Man of the Tournament awards in the blue jersey.

Here, we take a look at India's top 5 run scorers in World Cup history so far.

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#5 Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin

Mohammad Azharuddin, India's former captain and an elegant middle order batsman, had a good time in the World Cups. The right-handed batsman played 30 World Cup matches and scored 826 runs at an average of 39. Azharuddin was part of 4 World Cups for India between 1987 and 1999.

He also led the team in three World Cups - between 1992 and 1999. In the 1996 WC held jointly by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he took the team to the semi-finals. He was known for playing elegant strokes and making brilliant use of his wrists while doing so.

After making his debut in 1985, he played 334 ODI games and scored 9378 runs. The Hyderabad-born batsman was the team's backbone in the batting lineup throughout his career.

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#4 Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

The 'Sultan of Multan' was always a nightmare for the opposition bowlers and the case remained the same in the World Cups. Virender Sehwag scored 843 runs for India from 22 WC matches between 2003 and 2011.

The right-handed batsman used to open the innings for India and ensured that the team got off to flying starts with his aggressive batting style. In the 2003 World Cup, Sehwag played 11 matches and scored 299 runs for India. In 2007, during India's disastrous World Cup campaign in the West Indies, he was the team's top-scorer with 164 runs. The victorious edition in 2011 was also a good journey for him. In 8 matches, he scored 380 runs, including a century in the opening game against Bangladesh.

Virender Sehwag played 251 ODIs for India and scored 8273 runs at a strike rate of 104. The opener's heroics and daring innings are still fresh in the minds of all cricket fanatics.

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#3 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid, India's trustworthy 'Wall', is the country's third highest run-scorer in World Cup history. Dravid played 22 World Cup matches for India and scored 860 runs at an average of 61. His World Cup span lasted for three editions between 1999 and 2007.

The top-order batsman had his best World Cup ever in 1999, where he scored 461 runs from 8 matches and finished as the top scorer in the tournament. In the next edition, he played 11 matches and scored 318 runs. However, the 2007 World Cup was a drastic setback to his legendary career. The team got knocked out in the group stage under Dravid's captaincy.

The legend played 344 ODI matches in the Indian jersey and contributed 10,889 runs which included 12 tons. His 15-year old ODI career which ended in 2011 will always be remembered in Indian cricket's history books.

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#2 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly

India's favorite 'Dada' stands second on the list of the nation's highest run-getters in World Cups. The Kolkata-born player featured in 21 World Cup matches and scored 1006 runs including three centuries. He was part of three World Cup campaigns - 1999, 2003 and 2007.

Sourav Ganguly started his WC career in 1999, scoring 379 runs from 8 matches. In 2003, he was the second-highest run scorer in the tournament with 465 runs from 11 games. In 2007, he scored 162 runs from the 3 matches.

The 'God of the Offside' was a treat to watch throughout his playing days. The left-handed batsman was aggressive and sensible at the same time - a unique blend indeed. From the 311 ODI matches he played for India, Ganguly scored 11,363 runs, which included 22 centuries. He is one of India's most successful captains and took the team to the verge of a World Cup victory in 2003. Like the earlier 3 on the list, Dada too holds a special place in Indian cricket.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is the leading run scorer in World Cup history with 2278 runs from 45 matches. Like many other records, the Master Blaster jointly holds the record of having played the most number of World Cups - 6.

Tendulkar announced his arrival into World Cups in style in 1992, scoring 283 runs form 8 matches including 3 half-centuries. In 1996, he topped the chart of run-scorers with 523 runs from 7 matches.

This was followed by 253 runs in 1999 and 673 runs (top-scorer) in 2003. The 2007 World Cup was the only year in which Sachin failed to shine, scoring only 64 runs from 3 games. In 2011, his last World Cup, he scored 482 runs and was the second-highest run scorer in the tournament.

There is no debate about this man's contribution to the world of cricket. From the 463 ODI matches, he amassed 18,426 runs breaking and creating records all over the park. Even though it has been 7 years since Sachin left the field, his straight drives will be missed in this World Cup too.