ICC events have always been a major source of attraction and excitement among cricket fans. ICC events started in 1975 with the 60-over format, which later turned into 50-overs. In 2007, a new type of T20 cricket world cup also began. In these major tournaments, there have been many victories that no one ever thought possible. Since 1975 and spanning across two types of formats, there have been a lot of amazing matches that led to unexpected results.
1. India Vs West Indies (1983)
With no hopes and just losses on the way, the Indian team had landed in England to play in the 1983 World Cup. The first match was against the mighty West Indies, the best team currently in the world. It was assumed by everyone that this would be a cakewalk for the mighty West Indies. In no surprise, the match began with the West Indies fully controlling the match in their favour. To the surprise of everyone, Yashpal Sharma went on to score 89, which aided India in getting to a challenging total. Later on in the field, when it looked like Sir Vivian Richards would easily take the game away from the Indians, the Indian bowlers took the wickets and backfired on the entire West Indian batting line-up. This resulted in the first Indian victory in a World Cup since 1975. This also marked the beginning of the legendary World Cup-winning campaign of the 1983 World Cup for India.
2. England Vs Ireland (2011)
The 2011 world cup has many stories in itself, but the defeat of the English team against their Irish counterpart was one of the major highlights of the entire world cup. In Bangalore, under Kevin O’Brien’s leadership, Ireland defeated England. The game went down to the wire, and the turning point came with the run out of Kevin O’Brien at 113, but the Irish team, in the end, came out victorious with 3 wickets in hand and 5 balls remaining.
3. India Vs Bangladesh (2007)
The 2007 World Cup was a forgettable experience for India. The 2007 World Cup is considered one of the worst outings of the Indian team at any international event. The world cup opener against Bangladesh got all out for a score below 200, and Bangladesh easily won the match with five wickets in hand. The runner-ups of the previous world cup had been knocked out by Bangladesh, which was not expected by anyone.
4. Sri Lanka Vs Australia (1997)
The Sri Lankan team had been going through a period of crisis and accidents before the 1996 World Cup. The team and the country had been going through a lot during that period. Sri Lanka had the hunger to win, but up against them were the favourites, Australia, who were showing no signs of weakness. The Sri Lankans shocked the world by defeating the mighty Australians in the finals at Lahore and writing history.
5. West Indies Vs England (2016)
The 2016 T20 world cup is full of memories and moments, but the defeat of England at the hands of the West Indies in the finals of the world cup is surely the best of all. England was in control of the entire World Cup right up until the last over of Ben Stokes, which was faced by Carlos Braithwaite. Hitting four sixes and winning the World Cup unexpectedly for the West Indies.
6. India Vs Pakistan (2017)
India and Pakistan were the finalists of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. India, already having brutally beaten Pakistan in their previous outing, were favourites. Batting first, Pakistan was not able to put up a huge total, and the Indian victory was evident, but in an unexpected turn of events, miraculously, the Pakistan pace bowling fractured the Indian batting order and it collapsed. Resulting in Pakistan's victory.
7. Australia Vs South Africa (2019)
The last game for both teams turned out to be a nightmare for Australia, as they needed to win this game to retain their number one spot on the table. On the other hand, the South African team had a very poor World Cup, so there were very low expectations. On the match day, due to some injuries on the Australian side, the magical bowling performance from South Africa merged with a magnificent century from Faf Du Plessis to turn the game.
8. India Vs England (2013)
The final of the ICC Champions Trophy played between India and England was not exactly a smooth sailing match. Both the teams were favourites, but as England was playing under home conditions and had scaled down the Indian batting, and after DLS the target was just to reach 130 in 20 overs, it seemed like a simple English victory. But due to Dhoni’s game plan, India won the match and the ICC Champions Trophy.
9. Zimbabwe Vs Pakistan (2022)
The clash between Zimbabwe and Pakistan was considered a simple victory for Pakistan, but it turned out the other way around. The match went down to the wire and provided a good amount of thrills for the supporters and the spectators. The match was as intense as anyone could have imagined Zimbabwe giving a close fight to Pakistan. Finally, Zimbabwe won the match in the last over and on the last ball.
10. South Africa Vs Netherlands (2022)
Perhaps the most unexpected upset and the one with the least effect is this recent encounter between both teams in the recent T20 world cup. It was a cakewalk for South Africa, as everyone thought, and even Pakistan was packing to get back home, but out of the blue, the Netherlands beat South Africa to knock them out of the race to reach the semi-finals of the ICC WT20.
