From England’s trophy-winning ‘draw’ to India slaying two-time defending champs: Top 5 World Cup finals ranked

Over the years, there have been some really thrilling matches while there have been some one-sided affairs as well. Here is our top five World Cup finals that really caught the imagination of the fans.

The Cricket World Cup is the biggest event in International Cricket Council’s (ICC) calendar every four years. The multi-national event puts together the best teams among each other and winner gets the bragging rights to be called the best ODI team in the world for four years.

England players celebrate with the ICC World Cup trophy. (Reuters)

Over the years, there have been some really thrilling matches while there have been some one-sided affairs as well. Here is our top five World Cup finals that really caught the imagination of the fans.

5) 2011: India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

The stage was set for Sachin Tendulkar to lift the hallowed trophy on his home turf. But as Lasith Malinga removed Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar in quick succession, the dream quickly started to become a nightmare. Up stepped Gautam Gambhir and along with skipper MS Dhoni, got India back on track. Gambhir’ 97 took India on the threshold of victory, while Dhoni’s six took them over the line at Wankhede.

4) 1996: Sri Lanka beat Australia by 7 wickets

If ever a World Cup final belonged to a cricketer then that player is Aravinda de Silva. With the ball, he scalped the wickets of Mark Taylor, Ricky Ponting and Ian Healy to restrict Australia to 241/7. Then following the dismissals of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, he scored a masterful unbeaten 107 to help Sri Lanka win their maiden title with 22 balls to spare in Lahore.

3) 2003: Australia beat India by 125 runs

One of the most one-sided finals in the history of World Cups. As Zaheer Khan went for 15 runs in the first over, Indian fans knew it is going to be a long day for their bowlers against an explosive batting side. Ricky Ponting annihilated the bowlers, so much so that few Indian fans believed the Australian skipper had spring in his gloves. Sachin Tendulkar perished in first over in the humongous chase of 360 as India folded for just 234.

2) 1983: India beat West Indies by 43 runs

This David and Goliath finale was played between two-time defending champions West Indies and Kapil’s Devils India. The incredible pace attack of West Indies forced India to settle for 183 as the likes of Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding were all among the wickets. Indian bowlers launched a ferocious fight back as Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath scalped three wickets each to bring down the mighty Clive Lloyd-led team. Kapil Dev catch to dismiss Vivian Richards remains one of the finest pieces of fielding in a title clash. The WI juggernaut folded for 140 as India won their maiden title at the iconic Lord’s.

1) 2019: England vs New Zealand: Match tied, super over tied - England won via boundary count rule

The two teams were so well-matched that they couldn’t be separated even after a game of 102 overs. After New Zealand put up a below-par score of 241/8, England too finished at the same score, courtesy a magical innings from Ben Stokes (84* off 98 balls). The match went into super over and guess what, both teams once again finished with 15 runs on the board respectively. England became the champions because they had scored more boundaries than New Zealand on the day. As for the Kiwis, they were as good on the day as the score suggested, but a controversial rule forced them to finish second.