Top 5 Embarrassing Defeats for West Indies in ODIs
The winners of the first two World Cup tournaments were once the greatest cricket team in the world and for around two decades, West Indies remained the most dominant side in world cricket. However, their decline as a force in international cricket over the past decade and a half has been equally as dramatic. Despite all that, the West Indies remain one of the world’s most important cricket teams and especially so in ODI cricket.
Like any other cricket team, they have suffered humiliating defeats in ODI cricket as well and some of them were even suffered by those legendary teams of the 1980s and early 1990s. However, for a team with the sort of pedigree and history of the West Indies, the recounting of these defeats always make for interesting reading for any cricket fan. So, here is a look at 5 of the most forgettable defeats that the West Indies suffered in their ODI history.
#5 102 run loss to India in Hero Cup Final at Kolkata, 1993
Back in the 1990s, the West Indies had a formidable team at their disposal and when they went head to head against hosts in India at the Eden Gardens in the Hero Cup final, they started as the favorites. Led by the brilliant Curtly Ambrose, the West Indian pace attack did not let India get away and kept things under control. It was only because of Vinod Kambli’s steady 68, along with contributions from the middle-order (no one else scored a fifty) that India made 225 for 7 in their fifty overs.
The West Indies were definitely the favorites at the break and even though lost Phil Simmons early on, Brain Lara and captain Richie Richardson strung together a promising partnership. However, their downfall started once Tendulkar sent Lara’s off stump for a walk and then Anil Kumble completely destroyed the rest of the batting line-up. Kumble picked up 6 for 12 in 6.1 overs and West Indies went from 57 for 1 to 123 all out to crash to an embarrassing 102 run defeat.