Top 20 batting performances from World Cups from 1996 – 2007:
The reason I am restricting the purview of this post to World Cups between 1996-2007 was because these are the tournaments that I viewed on TV. I watched very little of 1992 World Cup as well as was an immature cricket fan in 1992. So 1996 would the right point of departure.
I am going to do a countdown. So let’s get this going:
20. Saurav Ganguly – 183 vs Sri Lanka, 1999 World Cup, England:
This was the innings that established Ganguly’s credentials in the One Day Game. It didn’t appear to be such a high scoring game when it started. India had ambled to 28/1 in 6 overs when Ganguly went berserk. In the company of Dravid, Ganguly tore into the Sri Lankan attack on a small ground in Taunton and went on to make what was then India’s highest individual One day score until Sachin’s innings of 186*. It was a scything attack and ended in the pursuit of the highest individual One Day Score.
19. Roger Twose – 80 vs Australia, 1999 World Cup, England:
It was an innings of purpose, concentration and defiance. The Kiwi bowlers had done well to restrict Australia to under 220 and the Aussie bowling attack of Lee, Mcgrath and Fleming were raring to go. Twose with help from Chris Cairns and Harris took New Zealand to a sweet victory over their Tasman rivals. This win would help the Kiwis to go through to the semis.
18. Kevin Pietersen – 100 vs West Indies, 2007 World Cup, West Indies:
It was a trademark Kevin Pietersen innings, flamboyant, swashbuckling and crowd pleasing and effective at the same time. England was chasing a stiff target of 300 and Pietersen’s 91 ball 100 single handedly carried England to the doorstep before being the 9th man out. England won by 1 wicket.
17. Stephen Fleming – 134 vs South Africa, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
In a rain shortened game, the New Zealand captain played one of his most fluent innings as South Africa were pushed to the brink of elimination in their home World Cup. It was one of the most graceful and stylish innings ever played in a World Cup game and that was the last we would see of the astute Fleming.
16. Brian Lara – 116 vs South Africa, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
Once again the Proteas were the unlucky ones to be at the receiving end of an inspired Lara epic. Such innings were becoming few and far between but for the second time in 3 World Cups, South Africa bore the brunt of the Lara genius. His fluent knock helped West Indies triumph over the home team and dimmed South Africa’s chances of progressing to the next round.
15. Saeed Anwar – 113 vs New Zealand, 1999 World Cup, England:
One of my favorite knocks. Saeed Anwar had been a very under-rated cricketer all his life. But time and again he had proved his value in gold to Pakistan’s success. This was one such occasion, the semifinals of the World Cup. Pakistan was chasing a tricky score of 240 against a sharp Kiwi bowling attack consisting of Geoff Allot, the highest wicket taker in that tournament, Chris Cairns, Styris and Vettori. Saeed Anwar ensured there would be no contest at all and Pakistan won by 9 wickets to storm into the finals.
14. Michael Bevan – 74* vs England, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
A typical Michael Bevan innings. The One Day game’s greatest finisher pulled a rabbit out of the hat as he carried Australia through to what should have been an easy victory chasing 220. Bevan played with the last man to take Australia home and keep their unbeaten record intact after James Anderson had swung the game England’s way.
13. Brian Lara – 111 vs South Africa, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
South Africa had won all 5 group matches and was in good form coming into the quarterfinals of the World Cup and looking for redemption for the injustice meted out in the 1992 World cup rain calculations. But they ran into a red hot Brian Lara who had had a quiet World Cup thus far. It was an inspired knock as he sent the South Africans on a leather hunt with a 94 ball 111. As a cricket lover, there are few better sights in cricket than a Brian Lara in full flow. A majestic knock that sent the South Africans back home.
12. Mohammad Ashraful – 87 vs South Africa, 2007 World Cup, West Indies:
Bangladesh had had a brilliant start to the World Cup with a win against India. They had to prove that that win was not a flash in the pan and that they were improving as a team. Ashraful showed his precocious talent with an 83 ball 87 that helped Bangladesh beat the South Africans. It was a very good knock from a confident young man.
11. Sachin Tendulkar – 137 vs Sri Lanka, 1996 World cup, Subcontinent:
We had seen the talented young man play in the 1992 World Cup. But this was the World Cup where the Little Master began asserting his landlord rights over this format of the game. He dazzled the world with his hitting as he took India from 171/2 in 40 overs to 271/2 in 50 overs, very rare in those days. Pace or spin did not seem to matter to him as he had so much time to play his shots. The master had arrived bright and regal.
10. Sanath Jayasuriya – 79 vs India, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
Sachin had helped India go to 271. Jayasuriya’s much talked about pinch-hitting ensured Manoj Prabhakar did not play cricket again. As we all know, it was incredible hitting. You’d wonder for years to come whether those wrists and arms of his are made of skin and bones or iron and steel. This was Jayasuriya’s World Cup and his innings helped Sri Lanka chase a tough target.
9. Sachin Tendulkar – 90 vs Australia, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
We had seen Sachin hitting a century against Kenya and Australia were bracing themselves to face the champion. It was majestic batting from the Master that kept India in the game chasing 240 in front of his home crowd. People were stupefied that this man could score so quickly with such a good technique and proper cricketing shots.
8. Andrew Symonds – 143* vs Pakistan, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
A terrific innings under pressure, Symonds carried Australia through from 43/4 to over 300. Against a bowling attack of the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, symonds waded into the bowling to hit a magnificent hundred.
7. Sanath Jayasuriya – 82 vs England, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
One of the most destructive innings you’ll ever see in a One Day game. Sanath Jayasuriya tore a hapless England attack as he plundered 82 off only 44 balls. England had come into the quarterfinals of the World Cup with dreams of going big. But Jayasuriya simply blew them away, initially with the ball and then with the bat as hen ensured an easy run chase for Sri Lanka.
6. Steve Waugh – 120* vs South Africa, 1999 World Cup, England:
A match-winning innings from the Ultimate Crisis man in cricket, this would go on to be the World Cup defining innings for Australia as they successfully chased South Africa’s 270 target and the win would help them sail through to the finals after the famously tied semis. Not only was it a composed innings but we saw some calculated hitting from Steve Waugh as he scored his 120* off only 110 balls on a difficult batting pitch against the likes of Donald, Pollock, Ntini and Klusener. The innings became more popular with Steve Waugh’s alleged comments of “You’ve just dropped your World Cup mate” to Gibbs.
5. Sachin Tendulkar – 98 vs Pakistan, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
When Pakistan scored 270 odd, Tendulkar went in like a man on a mission. He took the Pakistan attack to the cleaners. One of the most fearsome bowling attacks in the world consisting of Akram, Waqar and Shoaib Akhtar was made to look pedestrian as the Little Genius put India on the road to victory with a blistering knock of 98 off 75 balls before hamstring injury and an Akhtar snorter cut short his innings. But it would be remembered as one of the most calculated assaults on some of the best bowlers of all time. It is my favorite Sachin innings in a World Cup.
4. Aravinda DeSilva – 66 vs India, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
A brilliant counter attacking innings after Sri Lanka were 1 for 2 with both openers dismissed in the 1st over. De Silva smashed the Indian bowling as he made 66 from only 47 balls as he helped Sri Lanka set up a match winning total of 251. An innings of substance under pressure from a great technician of the game.
3. Adam Gilchrist – 149 vs Sri Lanka, 2007 World Cup, West Indies:
The innings that had taken a long time coming. Adam Gilchrist had taken the One Day world by storm 10 years earlier but his calling did not come until the World Cup finals of 2007. He had not had a spectacular World Cup and there were calls for his head. But in a rain shortened game, he put his squash ball in his gloves and began swatting the Sri Lankan bowling around. It was an innings that did not stay in people’s memory because the entire World Cup was a non-descript World Cup. It bore the Gilly stamp all the same.
2. Ricky Ponting – 146* vs India, 2003 World Cup, South Africa:
Ricky Ponting could not have written the script better. It was his first World Cup final as Captain, Gilchrist had laid a very good platform and the wicket was a batting beauty. Ponting tore into a lackadaisical Indian bowling and sent them screeching to all parts of the ground. The highest individual score in a Final, it was a remarkable innings of authority from the Aussie skipper. He ensured the Finals were pocketed after the Aussie innings ended at 359/2. It was one of the best example of leading from the front.
1. Aravinda De Silva – 107* vs Australia, 1996 World Cup, Subcontinent:
Well this innings scores over Ricky Ponting’s for the sheer magnitude of the occasion for Sri Lankan cricket as well as the quality of the bowling attack.
Sri Lanka was going through a tempestuous political time and Australia and West Indies had refused to play in the Emerald Isle. They had reached the finals with a simple gameplan. Restrict the opponents to a decent score with spinners, bat second, hit the first 15 overs for as many and then consolidate. It was a strategy that had worked for them. They were in the final facing a fancied Aussie team consisting of stalwarts like Taylor, Ponting, the Waugh brothers, Mcgrath and Warne. The spinners had done well to restrict Australia to 241. Jayasuriya had fallen cheaply. Aravinda De Silva took his calling and played one of the best knocks you’ll ever see on such a momentous occasion as a World Cup final. A chanceless unbeaten 107 off just 124 balls took Sri Lanka home with 7 wickets to spare and changed the face of Sri Lankan cricket forever. One of my all time favorite one day innings, it was a lesson in batting under pressure.
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