5 World Cup innings by Indians that created a buzz in the cricketing world
India has always produced batting stalwarts who made a mark for themselves in the game. Be it Gavaskar, Sachin or present-day great Virat, India never had a shortage of talents in the batting department. Over the course of the game, India has lifted the Cup twice. Currently, the number one ODI ranked team looks set for the upcoming World Cup.
Let's have a look at the top 5 innings from the Indians in the World Cup.
#5 Sourav Ganguly's 183 vs Sri Lanka
India's World Cup campaign of 1999 didn't start on a good note. With a couple of losses against South Africa and Zimbabwe, India was in a danger of getting knocked out before the super-six stage. It was India's must-win encounter against the defending champions, the Lankans.
After winning the toss, India was put to bat first in a cloudy Taunton morning. Sri Lanka had the first laugh sending Ramesh back in the 5th ball of the game. From there on it was only a rampage that is to be remembered for years to come. Ganguly was watchful of the new ball and reached his fifty off 68 deliveries.
He then slowly paced his innings and reached his ton off 119 deliveries. It was no stopping for him thereon. He made a mockery of the Sri Lankan bowling and took on some of their greats, Vaas and Muralitharan. For the next 83 runs, it just took him 39 deliveries with a couple of them landing outside Taunton. Dravid also made his mark with a brilliant 145 off 129 deliveries. As a result, India posted a mammoth total of 373 and sealed the game with 157 runs.
Match Summary
India 373/6 (S Ganguly 183, R Dravid 145, Wickramasinghe 3/65)
Sri Lanka 216 all-out (P Silva 56, A Ranatunga 42, R Singh 5/31)