ICC Tournaments in England: A look at India's performance
The Indian team is all set to play its opening match in ICC World Cup 2019 when they take on South Africa on Wednesday, the 5th June 2019. India enters into the fray as the last participating team in the tournament.
The first four matches of the tournament have all been one-sided affairs. But the last two matches between South Africa and Bangladesh and between England and Pakistan have brought the tournament alive. The defeats suffered by South Africa and England has brought about a new dimension to the predictions.
On the eve of India’s first match in ICC World Cup 2019, let us revisit Team India’s performances in ICC tournaments in the UK over the years.
#1 World Cup 1975 and 1979
Like so many other teams, India’s first appearance in an ICC tournament was the first 60-over World Cup in 1975. During that time, the Indian team was at its primitive stage in ODIs. That was reflected in their performances in the first two World Cups held in England.
In 1975, India won only one match against associate nation East Africa. India’s World Cup debut in the UK against England started in a devastating note when Sunil Gavaskar carried his bat through for 60 overs scoring a mere 36 not out.
There was more disaster in store for Team India in the second edition of the World Cup in 1979 where India failed to win even a single match. The Indians were subjected to the ignominy of losing to the then associate nation Sri Lanka.
As an aftermath of India’s horrendous performances, S.Venkatraghavan who captained India in the first two World Cups was sacked. It was a pity that his ouster from captaincy was announced on the flight back home.
At the end of the first two World Cups in the UK, India’s performance touched the all-time low. Thankfully for India, they never met their arch-rival Pakistan in the first four editions of the World Cup. Their successful run against Pakistan started much later in the 1992 World Cup and is still in force going into World Cup 2019.