As World Cup season is going on, we have seen teams making 300 runs quickly. In this World Cup, 350 runs in a new 300, and 400 is a new 350. Because teams, almost all groups are at least at a strike rate of 100. Especially batters like Klassen, Maxwell, and Markram play at a strike of 150 with ease. ODI Cricket has evolved very much now. However, it was different. Many slow innings can be termed as selfish innings. So, let’s look at the ten slowest innings in the World Cup.
1. Sunil Gavaskar Vs England
It was the first edition of the World Cup. Back then, the World Cup was known as the Prudential World Cup. India played its first-ever World Cup match against England. England won the toss and decided to bat first. Dennis Amiss scored a century, and England set a target of 335. In India’s innings, wickets fell, but apart from that, Sunil Gavaskar was defending the ball and not scoring runs. At the end of 60 overs, he scored 36 runs in 174 balls at an ugly strike rate of 20.68. This inning is termed as the most selfish inning in the World Cup.
2. Imran Khan Vs England
Imran Khan is the former World Cup-winning captain of Pakistan. He is one of the most celebrated cricketers of Pakistan. In the 1979 edition, he played his career’s slowest innings. This match was played in Leeds. Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl first. England set a decent target of 166 for them. Pakistan’s early wickets fell quickly. After that, Asif Iqbal controlled the game by scoring a half-century. But, because of Imran Khan’s 21 off 82 balls, they could not chase the target, and England won by 14 runs.
3. Bill Athey Vs Australia
It can be termed as the costliest, slowest innings in the World Cup. That was the World Cup final played by England and Australia. Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. David Boon contributed 75, and Mike Veletta scored 45 runs. England got a target of 254. In England’s innings, Graham Gooch built a crucial partnership with Bill Athey. But Bill Athey played at a pathetic strike rate of 56, which led to the loss of finals as they lost the finals by just seven runs.
4. Ravi Shastri Vs Australia
Former Indian coach and current cricket commentator Ravi Shastri was not that great Indian batsman, as he scored 3,108 runs in 150 ODIs with an average of 29. His slow innings against Australia in 1992 led to the loss of India by just one run. Despite Azhar’s great knock of 93, Ravi Shastri’s 25 off 67 balls at a strike rate of 37 was the main reason for India’s loss in that match.
5. Javed Miandad Vs India
Pakistan’s one of the best batsmen, Javed Miandad, is considered the best clutch player in Pakistan. In the early 90s, the Pakistan team was considered ahead of India. In this match, India elected to bat first and set a target of 217. From Pakistan’s side, Aamer Sohail scored 62 runs. But all batters were getting dismissed except Miandad, unfortunately, because his 40 off 110 balls at a strike rate of 36 created pressure on other batters as well. In the end, India sealed the victory by 43 runs.
6. Geoff Marsh Vs Pakistan
That was the must-win game for Pakistan to be in the race for the World Cup. They won the toss and decided to bat first. Again, Aamer Sohail scored 76 runs, and Pakistan set a target of 221 runs. From Australia’s side, Geoff Marsh scored 39 off 91 balls, hitting only one boundary. Even though Dean Jones and Mark Waugh played at a decent strike rate, this slow inning played by Geoff Marsh impacted Australia, and they lost the match by 48 runs.
7. Robin Smith Vs New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand hosted the 1992 World Cup, and this match was played in New Zealand, Wellington. New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first. After getting a good start, England aimed to set a big target for the Blackcaps. But Robin Smith played at a disappointing strike rate of 52, in which he scored only 38 runs. As a result, they were short of 50 runs, and New Zealand won the match by seven wickets.
8. Mohammad Kaif Vs New Zealand
Till now, All the slow innings came as a loss. But this inning played by Kaif was a match-winning inning. India played this match against New Zealand. India won the toss and chose to bowl first. By the sensational spell of Zaheer Khan, they stopped Kiwis at 146. From India’s side, Sachin, Sehwag, and Ganguly got out early. But Kaif and Dravid built a significant partnership, in which Kaif scored 68 off 129 balls at a strike rate of 52. But this was a knock that helped India to win this match.
9. Joe Root Vs Bangladesh
The 2015 World Cup was a nightmare for England’s team. They could not even qualify for a knockout, as Bangladesh stopped them. In this match, Bangladesh bat first. Mahmudullah scored a century, and Mushfiqur Rahim played a crucial inning. When England came to bat, they got a good start. But in the middle, Joe Root played very slow. He played at a strike rate of 61, which is very low then. England had to bear the cost of this slow inning, losing the match by 15 runs.
10. Mohsin Khan Vs West Indies
That was the first time India and Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals in the World Cup. At the same time, India won the semi-finals and entered the finals. Pakistan lost their semi-final match against two-time world champion West Indies. In this match, from Pakistan’s side, Mohsin Khan scored 70 runs off 176 balls at a strike rate of 39, which built pressure on other batters, and they lost their wickets. With Viv Richards’s 80 runs, West Indies won the match by eight wickets.
