11 Editions, 75 Games, 2 Cups: 10 Facts from India’s WC Campaigns
From their 11 campaigns so far, here’s a look at 10 World Cup facts about the Indian cricket team.
In their 12th appearance at the ICC World Cup this summer, a dominant Indian team will be vying for their third title and first since 2011.
Led by skipper Virat Kohli, the Men in Blue will begin their campaign against South Africa on 6 June, and then play a game each against Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, West Indies, England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage.
From their 11 campaigns so far, here’s a look at 10 World Cup facts about the Indian cricket team.
1.
India are one of only three teams to have lifted the World Cup more than once, along with Australia (5) and West Indies (2).
2.
India's win-loss record at the World Cup is 46-27, the third-best in the competition behind Australia and South Africa. One game ended in a tie, while another one was abandoned due to rain.
3.
Kapil Dev is the youngest captain to lift a World Cup, having been 24 when India stunned the world in 1983.
4.
India's second World Cup triumph in 2011 made them the first country to win a World Cup on home soil (a feat repeated by Australia in 2015).
5.
With 2,278 runs in 45 matches, Sachin Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in World Cup history – over 500 runs ahead of second-placed Ricky Ponting (1,743).
6.
Sachin Tendulkar scored 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup – the most by any batsman in a single edition of the World Cup.
7.
Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler to have led the wicket-taking charts at a World Cup – he did so by taking 15 wickets in 1996.
8.
Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath are India's joint-highest wicket-takers at the WC with 44 (Zaheer in 23 matches, Srinath in 34).
9.
The highest individual score by an Indian batsman in a World Cup game is Sourav Ganguly's 183 against Sri Lanka in 1999.
10.
No Indian has hit a 100 in the three World Cup finals contested by India; Gautam Gambhir's 97 vs Sri Lanka in 2011 remains the highest by an Indian in a WC final.
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