1. A.
Kapil Dev
Until the
1999 edition of the World Cup, Kapil Dev was the only Indian bowler to bag a 5
wicket haul across the 6 earlier editions, who achieved the feat in 1983 World
Cup. In the next 6 editions of the World Cup (including the 1999 edition), 5
more Indians (Robin Singh - 5/31 vs Sri Lanka in 1999 WC, Venkatesh Prasad -
5/27 vs Pakistan in 1999 WC, Ashish Nehra - 6/23 vs England in 2003 WC, Yuvraj
Singh - 5/31 vs Ireland in 2011 WC and Mohammed Shami - 5/69 vs England in 2019)
have achieved this feat.
Kapil
Dev's 5 wicket haul (5/43) (in a losing cause) against Australia in 1983 World Cup against
Australia was the first Fifer by an Indian in ODI cricket.
2. C. Amay
Khurasiya
Amay
Ramsevak Khurasiya, a former Indian cricketer (left-handed batsman) from Jabalpur,
Madhya Pradesh, made his ODI debut with a brisk 57 off 45 balls against Sri
Lanka at Pune in the Pepsi Cup tri-nations tournament in March, 1999 which also
involved Pakistan. He was later selected in the 15-member Indian Squad for the
1999 World Cup to be held in primarily by England, with some games being played
in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and the Netherlands. He played 10 of his 12 ODIs in
1999.
Unfortunately
Khurasiya did not get a single game in the Tournament despite India played 10
matches in the 1999 World Cup (5 in Group Stage and 5 in Super Six Stage) with
only 4 wins.
In 2001,
he made a comeback into ODIs by playing two more matches against Sri Lanka in a
tri-series without much success. He never played for India again. Khurasiya announced
his retirement from first class cricket in 2007 after he was dropped from
Madhya Pradesh Ranji team.
Khurasiya
had the rare distinction of clearing the formidable and highly regarded Indian
Administrative Services (IAS) exam before he made his debut for India. As of
today he is an Inspector in Indian Customs & Central Excise Department.
3. B. Dilip
Vengsarkar
(Graham Gooch en route his Man of the Match knock of 115)
India
qualified for the Semifinal in the 1987 World Cup riding on the confidence of
winning 4 matches from its 5 group stage matches. On 5th November, 1987 in the
second semifinal match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Kapil Dev inserted England
after winning the toss, expecting the ball to swing in the sweaty conditions
and the swirling breeze of the Arabian Sea. His expectations were bellied
though as England amassed 254 for 6 on a slow surface on which Graham Gooch (115,
11 fours) and Mike Gatting (56, 5 fours) fluently pulled and swept the two left-armers,
Maninder Singh and Ravi Shastri.
(Gavaskar
fell early to a great delivery from Defreitas)
In
response, India received an early jolt when Philip DeFreitas uprooted
Gavaskar's off-stump early. The Indian batsmen completely faltered against
off-spinner Eddie Hemmings (4/52) and fast bowler Neil Foster (3/47) as India
were bowled all out for 219 in the 46th over with only Azharuddin (64 from 74
balls, 7 fours) making any significant contribution. It was a heartbreaking
loss for India, ending their title defence. India missed ace batsman 'Colonel' Dilip
Vengsarkar, down with a tummy bug at his home ground who was replaced by
Chandrakant Pandit for the important match. This was Gavaskar's last ever
cricket match.
Vengsarkar
took over the captaincy from Kapil Dev after the 1987 Cricket World Cup,
despite criticism that he missed the semi-final match due to a stomach disorder
resulting from seafood allergy. Although he started with two centuries in his
first series as captain, his captaincy period was turbulent and he lost the job
following a disastrous tour of the West Indies in early 1989 and a stand-off
with the Indian cricket board (BCCI).
4. A. Sanath Jayasuriya
13 March,
1996 is a forgettable day in the history of Indian Cricket, when India fresh
after an incredible quarter-final against Pakistan slumped to 120 for 8 against
Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup Semi Final at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. Chasing
252 for a place in the final, India lost Navjot Singh Sidhu early but there was
no stopping for Sachin Tendulkar. He cut, he punched, he drove, he pulled, he
danced down the wicket and took on the spinners with authority.
When the
scoreboard read 98/1, Sanath Jayasuriya got the ball to trickle down the leg
side off Tendulkar’s legs. The Master Blaster lost his bearings for a minute
and Romesh Kaluwitharana was alert to gather the ball and whip the bails off. The
few minutes of wait that followed that appeal and the third umpire giving his
decision felt like eons: for Tendulkar, for the Sri Lankans and for Indian fans
around the world. As he walked back, dejection writ large over his face, there
was a sense that India were going to lose control.
When
Kambli walked in at No 5 after Mohammed Azharuddin’s dismissal, the scoreboard
read 99/3. It became 101/4. Then 110/5, 115/6, 120/7, 120/8. Soon unruly
sections among the fans started letting their frustration known and the match
had to be stopped, first temporarily and after efforts to pacify them failed,
permanently by Match referee Clive Lloyd giving Sri Lanka a default victory and
a place in their first World Cup final.
5. C.
Bangladesh
The 2011
ICC Cricket World Cup, the tenth edition of the tournament was played in India,
Sri Lanka and (for the first time) Bangladesh between 19 February and 2 April. The
opening ceremony was held on 17 February 2011 at Bangabandhu National Stadium,
Dhaka.
The first
match of the Tournament was played between India and Bangladesh at the
Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. Put into bat by Bangladesh
captain Shakib Al Hasan, the Indian innings was powered by the flamboyant Virender
Sehwag (175 from 140 balls, 14 fours, 5 sixes) and a wonderfully-paced unbeaten
century by young Virat Kohli (100* from 83 balls, 8 fours, 2 sixes) propelling
the team score to a towering 370/4, which remained the highest team total in
the whole tournament.
In response,
Bangladesh, left with a mountain to climb made a bold attempt to chase down the
target, but went down fighting by 87 runs.
