The World Cup was introduced to the cricket world in 1975 and since then, the tournament has become a regular in the international cricket calendar. Till the 2011 edition of the World Cup, there have been a total of 10 World Cups that have been played and Australia have been the best team with four wins to them.
India and West Indies have won the World Cup twice, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have won the tournament once apiece. England, who have entered the final of three World Cup tournaments, have never won the tournament, while South Africa, in their six attempts so far, have never even gotten to the final so far.
West Indies were the first two winners of the tournament, which were played in England, in 1975 and 1979 and would have made it three in a row, had it not been for India’s stunning upset. India were bowled out for 183 in the final, but West Indies imploded badly and lost by 43 runs.
Then, the 1987 edition, played in India and Pakistan saw the Aussies clinch their first win, by beating England in the final, but failed miserably in their home tournament as they crashed out of the 1992 tournament. Instead, it was Pakistan who clinched the tournament.
In 1996, Australia and Sri Lanka clashed in the final, with the Asian side winning their first World Cup, before the start of a three-tournament run for Australia. The Aussies won in 1999 by defeating Pakistan, in 2003 by beating India and then crushed Sri Lanka in the 2007 final. England, South Africa and West Indies were the hosts of these three editions of the World Cup.
India won the 2011 edition by overcoming Sri Lanka in the final to take their tally of World Cup triumphs to two.
Sachin Tendulkar has the record for the most number of World Cup runs with 2278, with Ricky Ponting a distant second at 1743. The others in the list are Brian Lara (1225), Sanath Jayasuriya (1165) and Jacques Kallis (1148).
Glen McGrath’s 71 wickets is the best among the bowlers, followed by Muthiah Muralitharan (68), Wasim Akram (55) and Chaminda Vaas at 49. Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath have both picked up 44 wickets.
India’s 413/5 against Bermuda in the 2007 edition of the World Cup is the highest team score, while their 257-run win in the same game is the highest margin. Gary Kirsten’s 188 against UAE is the best individual score in World Cups whereas Glen McGrath’s 7/15 against Namibia is the best bowling figures for an individual.
