The greatest upsets in men's World Cup history

Afghanistan's 69-run victory over England in Delhi got us thinking back to some of the most unexpected, thrilling and gobsmacking upsets in men's ODI World Cup history. It's a crowded field through the trophy's 48 years, so we've whittled it down to six of the best.

Honourable mentions

Zimbabwe defeat South Africa by 48 runs, 1999 World Cup

 

Zimbabwe defeat India by three runs, 1999 World Cup

 

Bangladesh defeat England by two wickets with six balls remaining, 2011 World Cup

 

Bangladesh defeat England by 15 runs, 2015 World Cup

 

Bangladesh defeat India by five wickets with nine balls remaining, 2007 World Cup

 

Bangladesh defeat Pakistan by 62 runs, 1999 World Cup

 

Afghanistan defeat England by 69 runs, 2023 World Cup

West Indies v India, 1983 World Cup final

India won by 43 runs

It was a miracle India had even made the final. Despite defeating Australia, Zimbabwe and the West Indies in the tournament's opening stages, nobody was giving Kapil Dev's side much of a chance against England in the semi-final.

The plucky Indians surprised the hosts at Old Trafford with a six-wicket victory, proving that their preliminary-stage form was no fluke. India celebrated – their team of perennial underachievers had made the final, and in foreign conditions too.

And yet the biggest challenge was still to come – takin­g on the West Indies powerhouse, a side stacked with legends of the game, on a misty Saturday afternoon at Lord's.

Against a bowling attack of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding, run-scoring was never going to be free-flowing. But a steady start from Kris Srikkanth (38) and Mohinder Amarnath (26) meant India were 4-100 when lunch was taken after 32 overs.

However, the class of the bowling attack (with some handy wickets to spinner Larry Gomes) meant even when the Indian batters got in they failed to go on to a big score. A 22-run 10th-wicket partnership got the underdogs up to 183, all out in the 55th over (of a maximum of 60).

The early wicket of Gordon Greenidge, bowled leaving an off-cutter from Balwindersingh Sandhu on one, was the start India needed but only resulted in Viv Richards striding to the crease. The great batter had smashed 138no in the Windies' 1979 final victory and he looked likely to emulate his past glory with several sweetly struck boundaries.

In fact, by the time he'd reached 33, Richards had already struck seven boundaries but in attempting his eighth, off medium pacer Madan Lal, he fell.

Captain Kapil ran a long way around the leg side boundary to take the catch that removed the West Indies' most dangerous player as the Windies had slipped to 3-57. And there was more pain to come, as Madan Lal got Gomes and Roger Binny snared their captain Clive Lloyd to leave the legendary side reeling at 5-66 having lost 4-16.

For the first time in the match, India had inched their way into favouritism.

Wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon (25) and Marshall (18) were prepared to grind it out though and set about on a resurrecting 43-run seventh-wicket stand.

An inspired spell from Amarnath saw him remove both set batters and effectively end Windies' chances of a comeback. It was fittingly Amarnath who took the final wicket, Holding lbw, to finish with 3-12 from seven overs as India claimed their maiden one-day crown.

Australia v Zimbabwe, 1983 World Cup 

Zimbabwe win by 13 runs

Talk about starting with a bang.

Only three years after gaining independence, Zimbabwe's first official one-day international was against Australia at the 1983 World Cup.

While the Australian side had just recently experienced its World Series Cricket revolution, leading to greater pay for players, the Zimbabwean team, although talented, was entirely amateur.

And things looked to be headed the expected way early on at Trent Bridge as the Zimbabweans fell to 5-84 with Dennis Lillee and Graham Yallop both taking two wickets each.

But a combination of tenacious batting from captain Duncan Fletcher (69) and Kevin Curran (27), as well as sloppy fielding from the Australians, allowed Zimbabwe to recover.

Fletcher himself was given two lives from missed chances, with he and No.8 Iain Butchart (31no) dragging the African nation up to a respectable 6-239 from 60 overs.

Openers Graham Wood (31) and Kepler Wessels (76) started smartly, adding 61 for the first wicket.

But it was that man again Fletcher, the Zimbabwe leader, who dragged his side back into the contest. He had Wood and opposing captain Kim Hughes (0) gone in successive overs, but he desperately needed some assistance as the tea break was called with the score 2-77.

David Hookes (20) did a good job building a 51-run partnership with Wessels, but an inspired Fletcher returned to the bowling crease and changed the game again.

He had Hookes caught at cover and Yallop caught in spectacular fashion by Andy Pycroft on the boundary, meaning the skippering allrounder had taken the first four wickets after top scoring in the first innings.

A brilliant throw from Jack Heron caught Wessels short of his ground and regular wickets fell to leave Australia 7-176.

Keeper Rod Marsh (50no) and fast bowler Rodney Hogg (19no) were left to pick up the pieces but by that point there weren't enough overs left.

A challenging 53 was needed off the final five overs, then a near-impossible 23 from the last one. Australia finished 13 runs short as Fletcher's men entered the World Cup arena in the best possible circumstances.

England v Zimbabwe, 1992 World Cup

Zimbabwe win by nine runs

Lavington Sports Ground on the New South Wales and Victoria border hasn't hosted a great deal of professional cricket, let alone international cricket, in its history, but in 1992 the 6,000 fans in attendance witnessed one of the great World Cup boilovers.

Things looked like they were going to script early as England's bowlers took advantage of favourable conditions, restricting Zimbabwe to 6-77. Only captain Dave Houghton (29) and Iain Butchart (24) managed to make it past 20, as Ian Botham (3-23) and Phil Tufnell (2-36) struck regularly.

But a crucial, innings-high partnership of 31 between Butchart and Eddo Brandes (14) for the eighth wicket helped the Zimbabweans edge closer to a competitive total. Left-arm spinner Richard Illingworth (3-33) cleaned up the tail as England bowled out their opponents for 134.

It was only when England captain Graham Gooch fell lbw to Brandes off the first ball of the innings were Zimbabwe considered a chance. Brandes (4-21), the chicken-farming fast bowler, totally destroyed the English top order with four of the first five wickets to fall, including Allan Lamb, Robin Smith and his former school mate from Harare, Graeme Hick for nought.

A 52-run stand between Neil Fairbrother and Alec Stewart (that spanned 24 overs) helped England recover from the desperate position of 5-43, but another mini collapse of 3-13 all but consigned England to defeat.

A simple catch to Andy Pycroft to dismiss Gladstone Small in the final over of the innings saw England all out for 125, nine runs short of the jubilant Zimbabweans.

Kenya v West Indies, 1996 World Cup

Kenya win by 73 runs

When a team's 'top scorer' is the extras column, it's generally safe to assume that team didn't have a great day. But that couldn't have been more untrue for Kenya during the 1996 World Cup, whose first-innings total of 166 against the West Indies contained 35 extras (14 wides, 13 no balls and eight leg byes).

It was a sloppy performance from the Windies, who despite having legends like Curtly Ambrose (2-21), Courtney Walsh (3-46) and Ian Bishop (1-30) in their attack, bowled wides, dropped catches and lacked their usual intensity in the contest. Steve Tikolo (29), Hitesh Modi (28) and 17-year-old Tom Odoyo (24) all got starts but couldn't nail a big score as Kenya were all out in 50th over for 166, an admirable effort but surely not enough to contain the exciting batting line up of the West Indies.

Although the Windies batting hadn't been firing on all cylinders, they still had great batters like Brian Lara, Richie Richardson and Jimmy Adams in the XI. Yes, both openers were bowled, Sherwin Campbell by Martin Suji for four and Richardson by Rajab Ali for five, but it wasn't until the bespectacled keeper Tariq Iqbal juggled and held onto a catch off Lara, that things felt amiss. Keith Arthurton was disastrously run out for a duck two runs later and the Windies were 4-35.

Then it was the captain's turn, as Maurice Odumbe's innocuous off-spin ran through the middle order, accounting for the wickets of Shivnarine Chanderpaul (19), Adams (9) and Roger Harper (17). Kenya had the West Indies 7-78 and there was no coming back from there. All out 93, smashed to the tune of 73 runs.

It was Kenya's first win in an official ODI and the first time West Indies had lost to a non-Test playing nation. "It's like winning the World Cup. It's a dream come true," said their beaming captain Odumbe, who was player of the match for his 3-15 from 10 overs. "The West Indies are our idols, and to beat an idol is a great thing."

Ireland v England, 2011 World Cup

Ireland won by three wickets with five balls remaining

It was the Kevin O'Brien show.

At 5-111 and chasing England's 328, Ireland's chances were as good as done. But what eventuated was one of the greatest nights in Irish cricket history.

England had knocked together 8-327 with the minimum of fuss – Jonathan Trott (92), Ian Bell (82) and Kevin Pietersen (59) all notching half-centuries as they cleared the 300-run barrier with ease.

John Mooney's four-wicket final spell, which included dismissing the set Trott and Bell, ensured Ireland would be chasing fewer than 350-plus, which looked likely with 10 overs to go.

In the chase, Graeme Swann found his groove and took three wickets in 13 balls to suck the life out of Ireland's chase. Or so England thought. Enter O'Brien.

The allrounder from Dublin took the attack to Swann right from the start of his innings, getting stuck into the off-spinner with a couple of sweetly struck sixes.

The required run rate nudged nine runs an over and threatened to rise above 10, but O'Brien's 30-ball half-century ensured it never got out of hand.

For so long the heart and soul of the Irish team, this was O'Brien's moment. Sporting dyed pink hair in the name of charity, O'Brien somehow found another gear, making many England deliveries look like very generous donations.

Well supported by No.7 Alex Cusack (47), the pair combined for a 162-run sixth-wicket stand which came off only 115 deliveries.

A ginormous six off Tim Bresnan got O'Brien into the 90s, and a simple clip off Michael Yardy saw him race back for two, completing a stunning century off only 50 balls. He gave a primal roar as he celebrated the fastest ton in men's World Cup history.

With 12 needed from the final 12 balls, his innings ended run out – a throw from the deep catching him short for 113 off 63 balls. Thankfully for the men in bright green, his knock wasn't in vain, with Mooney (33no) backing up his effort with the ball to get Ireland over the line.

Ireland v Pakistan, 2007 World Cup

Ireland won by three wickets with 31 balls remaining

Having already lost to West Indies in the opening match of the tournament, the 2007 World Cup's group system meant a loss in either of their remaining matches against Ireland or Zimbabwe would knock the 1992 champions out.

And that's exactly what happened on March 17 – St Patrick's Day.

A fiery opening spell from two-metre quick Boyd Rankin had the Kingston crowd up and about early, sending Younis Khan on his way for a duck. But he was far from the only batter to struggle.

Ireland's myriad of medium pace options read the conditions perfectly, slowing the pace down and not allowing easy singles. A cluster of wides from Rankin boosted the score but Imran Nazir (24) and Mohammad Yousuf (15) really had to scrap their way through the Powerplay.

In the 13th over, Ireland skipper Trent Johnston got the breakthrough, Yousuf caught at backward point by William Portfield. He then brought out the now-famous chicken-dance, sparking a collapse as Pakistan's middle order cracked like an egg. Pakistan lost 4-16 with Andre Botha proving impossible to get away, he would finish with figures of 2-5 from eight overs – 132 all out in the 46th over, and Ireland could sniff an upset.

But the chase wouldn't be easy. With a bit of rain and thick cloud hanging around, conditions were suited to Pakistan's pace bowlers. Mohammad Sami was especially tough to play, getting the ball to swing and claiming the wickets of Jeremy Bray and Eoin Morgan in his opening spell. With his side wobbling, wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien took it upon himself to lift Ireland out of the mire. He notched the only score above 30 for the match, scoring 72 at the relatively brisk strike rate of 67.28. When he fell, O'Brien had scored exactly two thirds of his side's 108.

Brother Kevin (O'Brien) was willing and able to finish the job, together along with Johnston scoring the remaining runs required.

Earlier weather had reduced Ireland's target by five runs, but a six from Johnston with scores tied ensured Ireland still surpassed Pakistan's score.

The tragic post-script to this result was Bob Woolmer's death. The Pakistan coach and former England cricketer was found in his hotel room the morning after his team's shock loss.