The Indian cricket team is set to kickstart its 2019 ICC World Cup campaign with the opening match against South Africa in Southampton on Wednesday. The team led by Virat Kohli will be looking to win the prestigious tournament for the third time after emerging victorious in 1983 and 2011.
Apart from the highs, India has endured equally painful lows like having to forfeit a home semi-final due to an unruly crowd in 1996, to making an ignominious exit in the group stage in 2007.
Here is a look at all of India's World Cup campaigns so far:
1975, England
The first ever edition of the Cricket World Cup was held in England in 1975. India was pitted alongside hosts England, New Zealand and East Africa. India, led by S Venkataraghavan, exited the tournament in the group stage losing two games, with the solitary win coming against East Africa. West Indies went on to win the title.
1979, England
The second edition of the tournament was played in the same format as the first one. India was in Group B alongside defending champions West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. It turned out to be a forgettable outing for the Indian team, which was again led by S Venkataraghavan. India lost all three group games and crashed out of the tournament in the group stage despite good performances from GR Vishwanath and Mohinder Amarnath. West Indies retained the trophy.
1983, England
Rank outsiders at 66:1, India scripted history at the third edition of the World Cup by pulling off a sensational victory against two-time champions West Indies in the final. The team led by all-rounder Kapil Dev won 6 of the 8 matches played at the tournament. India progressed through the group stage with wins over the West Indies, Zimbabwe and Australia before beating England in the semifinals.
In the finals against the West Indies, India managed to defend a low score of 183 thanks to a brilliant bowling performance by Mohinder Amarnath and a memorable catch by Kapil Dev to dismiss the great Viv Richards.
Despite the absence of television to relay live pictures of the win, India's World Cup win gave a significant boost to the game in the subcontinent.
1987, India-Pakistan
Defending champions India dominated the group stages of the 1987 World Cup held for the first time outside England. India lost just one game in the group stages against Australia by a margin of 1 run. New faces like Mohammed Azharuddin, Maninder Singh starred for India in the tournament.
In the semifinals, India was set a target of 255 to chase by England. At one point, India was coasting at 204-5 with 51 runs needed in the last ten overs. However, a batting collapse saw India lose five wickets for just 15 runs. Australia went on to lift the title beating England by 7 runs.
1992, Australia-New Zealand
India struggled at the 1992 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, with inclement weather also playing its part. The team crashed out of the tournament in the group stage and managed to win just two games. One of the defeats included a one-run loss again to Australia, in a rain-affected match.
This was Sachin Tendulkar's debut on the World Cup stage and the 19-year-old starred with the bat in India’s win over Pakistan, stroking an unbeaten 50. Pakistan, under their inspirational captain Imran Khan, went on to lift the trophy beating England in the final.
1996, India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka
The World Cup returned to the sub-continent in 1996. Despite strong performances from Sachin Tendulkar, who was the top run-scorer in the tournament, and Anil Kumble, who picked up the most wickets, India unceremoniously exited the tournament in the semi-final stage.
The match against Sri Lanka played at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata was called off with India at 120-8 due to a rioting crowd. India could not take the field again and forfeited the match. Sri Lanka went on to lift the World Cup in the final against Australia.
1999, England
The World Cup returned to England in 1999 and India led by Mohammed Azharuddin was eliminated in the Super Sixes stage. One of the highlights for India was yet another win against arch-rivals Pakistan. Australia managed to win the trophy for the second time beating Pakistan in the final.
2003, South Africa
Sachin Tendulkar once again produced a sterling run of performances in the World Cup to power India into the final. Sachin scored 673 runs with the bat, breaking his own record for most runs in a single edition of the tournament, and was backed up by captain Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag. India was however defeated comprehensively in the final by a rampaging Australian team led by Ricky Ponting, which posted 359 runs on the board batting first.
2007, West Indies
This was a rather forgettable World Cup for India as the Rahul Dravid-led team fell to a shock defeat against Bangladesh and exited the tournament in the group stage. India’s only win came against minnows Bermuda. Needing a win against Sri Lanka to stay alive in the tournament, India was bowled out for 185 chasing 255 to win.
Dravid resigned as captain and this was also a period of turmoil for the team with the controversial Greg Chappell as coach.
2011, India-Sri Lanka-Bangladesh
India was one of the hosts of the 2011 World Cup. The team led by captain MS Dhoni defeated Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the knockout stages to win the title after a gap of 28 years. Dhoni, who struggled with the bat in the tournament, promoted himself up the order and scored 91 not out in the final against Sri Lanka, including a memorable six to clinch the win.
A man-of-the-series performance by all-rounder Yuvraj Singh contributed to the World Cup win. Sachin Tendulkar’s swan song at the World Cups thus ended on a historic high.
Picture Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, CC 3.0, C.Daniel Chelliah
2015, Australia-New Zealand
Defending champions India reached the semifinals of the World Cup in the last edition held in 2015. MS Dhoni led the team once again. Opener Shikhar Dhawan starred with the bat and India extended its winning streak against Pakistan in the World Cup but the team was beaten by Australia in the semi-finals. Australia claimed a record 5th title thrashing New Zealand in the finals.