5 revenge matches at the World Cup

Revenge is harming someone who previously hurt you. In this context, it is basically knocking a team out at the next chance, after being knocked out by them. What can give a team more satisfaction than this? It was that team after all which ended or played a part in ending the world cup hopes last time.Wouldn’t you just love it if your team beat another team that dished your team a very disappointing loss in the past?Let us look at 5 such revenge matches:

#1 England vs India: 1983 --> 1987

Graham Gooch during his knock of 115 vs India in 1987

India was on the receiving end of this one.

In the 1983 World Cup held in England, India, who were at odds of 66/1 to win the World Cup, came up with a terrific performance to lift the trophy. They were up against a very strong England side in the semifinals. England won the toss and chose to bat, But, the English batsmen weren’t up to the task. They mistimed too many balls and the disciplined Indian bowling didn’t help their cause. They scored a modest 213 all out in 60 overs. Kapil Dev scalped 3 wickets and Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny picked up 2 wickets each. India won the match comprehensively aided by half centuries from Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil.

The next time these two teams met was in the same stage of the 1987 World Cup in Mumbai. India won the toss and chose to field. They were rewarded with 2 batsmen falling cheaply and expected the England batting to collapse. But, what followed was an onslaught from Graham Gooch (115) and Mike Gatting (56). England posted a commendable score of 254/6 in 50 overs. After a bad start, Azharuddin walked in and scored an aggressive 64 (74) and brought India back into the match. But, India lost their last 5 wickets for just 15 runs and ended up losing the match by 36 runs.

England had the last laugh.

#2 India vs Sri Lanka: 2007 --> 2011

India beat Sri Lanka to lift the World Cup in 2011

The 2007 World Cup was a forgettable experience for the Indian team. They failed to qualify from the group stages, though placed in a relatively easy group consisting of Bangladesh, Bermuda and Sri Lanka apart from India. After suffering a shock defeat to Bangladesh in the opening game, India had to win against Sri Lanka to qualify. India won the toss and chose to field. Despite early setbacks, Sri lanka managed to post a decent 254/6 in 50 overs thanks to half centuries from Tharanga and Silva. India lost wickets at regular intervals and never looked like getting to the target. They eventually lost by 69 runs and were knocked out of the tournament.

The finals of the 2011 World Cup in Mumbai, was their next meeting and both the teams were equally strong. Sri Lanka, after winning the toss, posted a total of 274/6 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to an authoritative century from Jayawardena. India were in all sorts of trouble after losing Sachin and Sehwag early. But Gambhir, along with good support from Kohli, started a fightback and Dhoni, coming ahead of the in form Yuvraj, finished it off in style.

The victory tasted sweeter because it was against the team which had knocked India out of the 2007 World Cup.

#3 England vs West Indies: 1979 --> 1987

England reached the finals of the 2nd world cup and started to dream about winning it in front of their 32,000 home fans at Lord’s. But, the mighty West Indies stood in their way. England chose to field and it looked to be a great decision when West Indies were tottering at 99/4. But, Collis King walked in and started playing his shots right from the start. England didn’t know what hit them. King’s innings and a magnificent hundred from Sir Viv Richards took West Indies to a huge total of 286/9 in 60 overs. The English openers scored at a very slow rate and by the time they got out, the required rate was too high. England eventually collapsed to 194 all out.

The English were waiting to take revenge and they got their chance in 1987. It was the group stage and England, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were placed in one group. The toss once again favoured England, and they chose to field. They managed to restrict the West Indians to a modest 243/7 in 50 overs. In reply, England kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Allan Lamb played an extraordinary innings of 67* to take them home. This made the second meeting between these two teams a must win for West Indies. England came out on top again and West Indies were knocked out.

#4 India vs Australia: 2003 --> 2011

Sourav Ganguly’s India surprised many people by entering the finals of the 2003 world cup. Just when they thought they could go all the way, they were given a harsh reality check by the Aussies in the finals. After being out in to bat, Australia posted a mammoth 359/2 majorly due to a flamboyant knock of 140* from skipper Ricky Ponting. Though they went for it, India never looked like chasing down that target and ended up losing the match by 125 runs which is a record margin in a World Cup final. The loss shattered the players and the fans alike as India had almost pulled off something which seemed impossible.

They next met in the quarter finals of the 2011 World Cup in India. One thing which didn’t change was Ricky Ponting scoring a century. But, that was about the only thing which didn’t change. India batted with purpose and chased down the target of 261 set by the Aussies, thanks to half centuries from Sachin, Gambhir and Yuvraj. Australia were knocked out of the cup and had lost a knockout match for the first time in 15 years. India went on to win the World Cup, and in the process avenged their loss to Australia 8 years ago.

#5 Pakistan vs Australia: 1987 --> 1992

When Pakistan took on Australia in the 1987 World Cup semifinals, both teams were evenly matched and Pakistan had an added advantage of home support. Australia, after electing to bat, looked good to reach 300 at one stage, after David Boon and Dean Jones laid a solid platform. But Imran Khan, took 3/17 in just 5 overs to keep them down to 267. Pakistan suffered early setbacks, falling to 37/3. Miandad and Imran Khan fought back but that wasn’t enough. Australia won by a margin of just 18 runs and Pakistan lost in their home soil.

In the next World Cup in 1992, Pakistan got the chance to take revenge and knock Australia out of the round robin stage. Though Australia had 2 more matches remaining, a Pakistan win in this match meant curtains to Australia’s run. After a solid start, Pakistan suffered a middle order collapsed and could manage to score only 220/9 in their quota of 50 overs. But the Pakistani bowlers were upto the task, and a terrific bowling performance ensured that Australia didn’t get close to the target. Pakistan won by 48 runs and had virtually ended Australia’s run in their own backyard. This was a classic revenge. Though Australia won both their remaining group games, they didn’t qualify for the knockout stage.