Who doesn’t like an underdog story in cricket or any sport, you would enjoy the Indian football team winning the world cup or winning a match and that’s what happens in cricket when an associate national win against a big nation or win a match when no one was expecting them to win makes the game of cricket more exciting and enjoyable to watch. Today we bring you the Top 10 most remarkable underdog stories in cricket history.
1. India 1983
There is no better way to start other than the win, which prompted an evolution in the country. The most famous world cup wins in cricket history. People were sure that India would not win a match in the tournament as before they only had one success, against East Africa, but someone was sure they would win. They lifited the cup by, beating West Indies twice, Australia, Zimbabwe, and England to lift the world cup on 25th June 1983.
2. Pakistan 1992
Another Asian team on this list, and this time it is our neighbor Pakistan, who went on to achieve the dreams of many fans and showed the world where the Asian team stands out. Pakistan just had one win from their first five matches, and that was against Zimbabwe. They later went on to win their rest of group stage matches against Australia, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand, reaching the semifinal and facing New Zealand beating them and reaching the finals beating England by 22 runs to lift the world cup.
3. Sri Lanka 1996
Sri Lanka was never seen as a team who could win the world cup, but the 1996 world cup changed the perception of how Sri Lanka was seen in the cricketing world. The 1996 world cup was co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. They got a walkover by Australia and the West Indies as they refused to play in Sri- Lanka. They beat India, Kenya, and Zimbabwe to reach Quarterfinals, where they faced England, beating them to get to the semifinal, where they faced India, in the infamous Kolkata match. They went on to win against Australia and lift the world cup.
4. Pakistan 2017
Pakistan winning the champion trophy was very disappointing for the Indians and had them fuming, but this story of an underdog team was remarkably fascinating. They were ranked No. 8 when they came to play in the tournament. This tournament was known for its underdog stories, as Bangladesh reached the semi-final and Sri Lanka beat India. Pakistan beat South Africa and Sri Lanka to reach the semis, where they faced England, beating them and reaching the tournament finals, and went on to win the Champions Trophy beating India in the final.
5. India 2007
India won the inaugural l T20 world cup without their leading players, and a new captain in charge without never be forgotten by any cricket fan. This was held after the 2007 world cup, where India was knocked out in the group stage, so they decided to send young players for the T20 world cup with a new captain. This team beat Pakistan in the group stage, and their other match got washed out against Scotland. They reached Super 8, where they beat England and South Africa to reach the semifinal, and they beat Australia to reach the finals and lifted the world cup by beating Pakistan in the Final.
6. Bangladesh 1997
Bangladesh winning the 1997 ICC trophy was the stepping stone for this young team. ICC Trophy was played as the winner of this would play the World Cup, and that's what happened when Bangladesh won. They got the chance to play in the 1999 world cup. Bangladesh won against Denmark, UAE, Malaysia, West Africa, and Argentina to reach the second round, where they faced Hong Kong and the Netherlands, beating them. They won the tournament beating Scotland in the Semifinals and Kenya in the Final.
7. Rajasthan Royals 2008
Some IPL underdog stories; this was when the Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, went on to win the inaugural IPL with lesser-known players describing how this tournament would be like in the future. Rajasthan Royals topped their group with 11 wins. They faced Delhi Daredevils in the Semi Final beating Chennai Super Kings in the Finals to lift the IPL Trophy and become the IPL champions.
8. Vidarbha 2017-18
Now time for some domestic. Vidarbha winning the Ranji Trophy in 2017-18 is the most underdog story of a small team captained by Faiz Faisal. They topped their group with 31 points, winning against Punjab, Services, Bengal, and Goa, drawing against Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh. They faced Kerala in the Quarterfinals, reaching Semi-Final; they met Karnataka beating them by just five runs, and went on to win the Ranji Trophy by beating Delhi in the finals.
9. Railways 2001-02
Railways won their first of the two Ranji trophies in 2001-02, where they topped their group with 26 points, winning two matches and drawing two games. They reach the knockout stage of the tournament, where they face Delhi in the Round of 16. Tamil Nadu in Quarter Final, beating Bengal in Semifinals to reach the final where they faced Baroda, winning the match by 277 runs.
10. Haryana 2015-16
Haryana’s win in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy defined that even the greatest players of the sport can beat Kapil Dev. Haryana was led by Kapil Dev; they were in the group, comprising Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Services, and Jammu and Kashmir. They were second in this group and reached the Quarterfinals, where they faced Uttar Pradesh, making their way to Semi-Final meeting with Bengal in the Final stage, they met the team which players like Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vinod Kambli, and Sanjay Manjrekar but Kapil dev came out on top winning the Ranji trophy.
