Ranking the 5 greatest upsets in ODI World Cup history ft. England-Afghanistan

There is no bigger cricket tournament than the ICC ODI World Cup. With the stakes extremely high, all the participating teams compete to leave their stamp on the competition. This also gives an opportunity to some of the less-fancied teams to make their presence felt among the big boys of the game.

The mega event has had its fair share of surprising results, where strong teams have faced reverses against some underdogs.

One such instance took place in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup as well, when defending champions England were humbled by Afghanistan by 69 runs in Delhi on Sunday, October 15.

Across all its 13 editions, the showpiece event has provided fans with a number of instances where an unfancied team has prevailed over a strong unit.

On that note, let's rank the five greatest upsets in ODI World Cup history.

Honorable mentions:

Bangladesh beating India in 2007

Ireland beating Pakistan in 2007

Kenya beating Sri Lanka in 2003

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#5 Afghanistan beating England by 69 runs in Delhi - 2023 ODI World Cup

Rashid Khan celebrating with his teammates [Getty Images]

On June 18, 2019 in Manchester, England streamrolled past Afghanistan and beat them by a margin of 150 runs. However, four years later, England found themselves at the receiving end as they suffered a setback against the same opposition in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup.

The surface in Delhi provided help for the batters in the previous game, but there was some help for the slower bowlers in the clash between England and Afghanistan. That's where the spin bowling unit of the Afghans thrived and wreaked havoc in the second innings.

The duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took three wickets each as Afghanistan regularly made inroads into the English batting.

Chasing 285, only Harry Brook (66) got used to the pace of the pitch, while the other English batters had no idea how to tackle the Afghan bowlers.

Earlier, Rahmanullah Gurbaz's blazing 57-ball 80 set up what proved to be a brilliant first-innings total of 284 for his side. Ikram Alikhil, who was playing his first game of the tournament, also chipped in with a crucial 58.

With over 25,000 people cheering for Afghanistan in the stadium, the leader of their pack, Hashmatullah Shahidi, said at the post-match ceremony that this was just their "first win, but not the last one".

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#4 Kenya beating West Indies by 73 runs in Pune - 1996 ODI World Cup

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Kenya player celebrating the wicket of Brian Lara [Getty Images]

Coming into their group stage game against the West Indies, Kenya had lost all three of their previous games against India, Australia and Zimbabwe.

No one gave Kenya a chance against the West Indies, who featured the likes of Brian Lara, Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

However, Kenya scripted a remarkable victory as they defended their modest total of 166 at the Nehru Stadium in Pune.

Put into bat first, Kenya were bundled out for only 166 runs. In fact, their highest individual run-getter, Steve Tikolo (26) scored less runs than the extras (37) in the Kenyan innings.

Although the Windies batting hadn't been firing on all cylinders, they still were huge favorites to achieve the target.

Coming in to bat, the West Indies were hoping for their openers to give them a good start. But that did not happen as the Kenyan bowlers bowled exceedingly well to keep the match alive.

Regular wickets at crucial junctures meant that the West Indies never got going. The possibility of a shock upset looked more and more likely and when Rajab Ali got Cameron Cuffy for 1, the embarrassment for the West Indies was complete.

They had been bundled out for 93, and that defeat was in some sense the start of the decline for the men from the Caribbean unit.

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#3 Zimbabwe beating Australia by 13 runs in Nottingham - 1983 ODI World Cup

Zimbabwe players celebrating their win vs Australia [Getty Images]

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

Facing the mighty Australians, a talented but immature Zimbabwean team caused a major upset to start their cricketing history with a bang. The Trent Bridge stadium in Nottingham hosted the match.

Put in to bat by the Aussies, Zimbabwe got off to a steady start but were soon in trouble at 94 for 5. Kevin Curran walked out to join Duncan Fletcher, and the duo put on a crucial 70-run stand before the former was dismissed for 27. Fletcher top scored with 76 not out and took his side to 239 for 6 at the end of 60 overs.

For Australia, openers Graham Wood (31) and Kepler Wessels (76) started smartly, adding 61 for the first wicket. However, it was Fletcher, the Zimbabwean skipper, who got some vital breakthroughs to give the team a fighting chance.

The right-arm pacer put Australia on the backfoot as he claimed the prized wickets of Wood, Kim Hughes (0), David Hookes (20) and Graham Yallop (2) to restrict them to 226/7 in the second innings.

Australia finished 13 runs short as Fletcher's men announced their arrival on the World Cup arena in the best possible manner.

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#2 Ireland beating England by 3 wickets in Bengaluru - 2011 ODI World Cup

Ireland players in jubilation after beating England [Getty Images]

Following their nerve-wrecking tied game against India, England were involved in a high-octane clash against neighbors Ireland in Match 15 of the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The English team eyed full points in the game and gave them the best chance by putting a total of 327/8 on the board in the first innings.

The chase by Ireland started in the worst possible manner as William Porterfield was out for a golden duck. Ed Joyce (32) and Paul Stirling (32) tried to rebuild the innings but Ireland endured a collapse and were 111/5 inside 25 overs.

The minnows seemed to be down and out, but Kevin O'Brien had other ideas as he seemed to be a man on a mission.

The all-rounder smashed the-then fastest century (in 50 balls) in the history of the World Cup to give hope to his country. He scored 113 runs off 63 balls as he built a 162-run partnership with Alex Cusack (47).

After losing Cusack, John Mooney came in and he was equal to the task and made a breezy 33 not out off 30 balls.

Kevin O'Brien was run-out for 113 but he managed to put his team on the cusp of victory by then. Ireland won the match by three wickets, and the innings from the right-hander became a part of World Cup folklore.

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#1 India beating West Indies by 43 runs in London - 1983 ODI World Cup

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Kapil Dev's men did the unthinkable in 1983 ODI World Cup [Getty Images]

Ahead of the 1983 ODI World Cup, no one had given India any chance of making it to the knockouts, let alone winning the final.

However, through some excellent performances in the group stages and beating the hosts England in the semi-final, India reached their first ever World Cup final to face the mighty West Indies at Lord’s.

On a misty Saturday afternoon, the Kapil Dev-led unit had an arduous task of going up against a powerful West Indies side that featured the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner.

Batting first, India got off to a shaky start losing Sunil Gavaskar (2) early. Kris Srikkanth and Yashpal Sharma (11) then steadied the ship for a while before the former was dismissed for 38.

After that, India could not really get a move on as the West Indian quicks picked up wickets regularly. They were eventually bundled out for 183 in 54.4 overs with Andy Roberts picking up 3 wickets.

Everyone anticipated that the Caribbean team would win the final at a canter. Additionally, it appeared that the game would be over well before 35 overs when Vivian Richards (33 off 28) was at the crease.

However, that was not to be the case. Indian skipper Kapil Dev pulled off a sensational running catch to dismiss Richards, helping his team claw their way back into the game. The spirited Indian unit then never looked back and kept taking wickets at regular intervals to put the West Indian team on the back foot.

Madan Lal (3/31) and Mohinder Amarnath (3/12) bowled inspiring spells to take the team closer to an unlikely victory. Despite Jeff Dujon (25) and Malcolm Marshall (18) preparing to grind it out, India emerged triumphant by 43 runs and clinched their maiden ODI World Cup title.

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