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How Many Times Has India Won The ICC World Cup?

The ICC World Cup is one of the most awaited events in the world. Given the followership of cricket in India, people often look to check out details on the history of the tournament, with questions rising on how many times India has won the ICC World Cup. Let’s revisit all of the triumphs for the Men in Blue and check out how many times India has won the ICC World Cup.

How many times has India won the ICC World Cup?

ICC World Cup tournaments are unquestionably the biggest prize in cricket. Winning the cricket World Cup is a dream for many players across the world, and only a handful have been able to achieve it. The Indian cricket team is amongst the most successful sides, with the teams having won almost every ICC trophy possible. So far, India has won three ICC World Cups. India are two-time cricket World Cup winners, having won it in 1983 and 2011. They also emerged victorious in the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. Let’s revisit all of India’s wins in World Cups.

1983 World Cup

India did not have a good outing in the previous two World Cups,  which took place in 1975 and 1979. They played six matches across both the World Cups, and crashed badly, being knocked out in the very first round.

Citing India’s poor outings, the Kapil Dev-led side was considered to be a major underdog a nd with quite a few not considering the chances of a win at the 1983 cricket World Cup. However, Kapil’s Devils made the impossible a reality.

The Indian cricket team managed to win four wins from six matches during the group stage to end with 16 points against their name. They finished second in Group B, only behind the West Indies. Their group stage journey also includes a famous 31-run win over Zimbabwe Tunbridge Wells. Kapil Dev led the team from the front in that match, scoring a magnificent 175* (138) in a game that wasn’t televised.

Taking on hosts England in the semi-finals, India managed to turn the tide and emerged victorious to qualify for the World Cup final for the very first time. Mohinder Amarnath’s all-round brilliance against England saw him win the man of the match award as well.

Despite making it to the final, India was still considered to have an outside chance as they had to take on formidable opponents in the West Indies. It was not going to be an easy task as West Indies wasn’t just the most successful country Back then but also the only team to have lifted the World Cup twice, in 1975 and 1979.

The 1983 World Cup final went on to shape the destiny of cricket in India forever as Kapil Dev and co defeated West Indies at the Lord’s cricket stadium by 43 runs in the final.

K Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath shined with the bat against the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, while Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each and bowled out the West Indies. The win in the 1983 World Cup final brought in a big revolution for cricket in India, and the sport has been one of the country’s favourite ever since.

2007 ICC T20 World Cup

The concept of T20 cricket was yet to be as popular as it was, with the shortest format of the game still being introduced to the audience. During the pre-IPL ( Indian Premier League) era, the fanfare of T20 cricket was slowly catching on. The credibility and followership of this format were legitimised when the ICC decided to organize the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007.

Taking place in South Africa, India entered the tournament amid a lot of chaos and controversy. Fans were against the Indian after a poor show at the ODI World Cup, quite a few senior players refused to play this tournament. It saw the young Indian side being captained by MS Dhoni, and the rest is history.

India topped Group D by winning both their matches, which included the famous bowl-out against Pakistan. Later on, they also finished on top of the Super 8 stage by winning two of three matches. These Super 8 games include the iconic India vs England clash, which saw Yuvraj Singh smashing six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad.

After making it to the semi-finals, India managed to defeat Australia in the last four by a 15-run margin to cement their slot in the ICC T20 World Cup, a final against arch-rivals Pakistan. Gautam Gambhir stole the show with the bat as the Men in Blue put up a competitive score of 157/5.

While Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to take the game away, MS Dhoni’s trust in Joginder Sharma in the final overpaid off for the Indian team. Sharma conceded a six and a wide but managed to dismiss Misbah-ul-Haq, who attempted a paddle scoop but was eventually hitting the ball in the hands of Sreesanth. It led to India becoming the maiden T20 World Cup champions, and since then, the success has been a fan favourite. The inception of the Indian Premier League following India’s historic win saw T20 cricket grow beyond bounds.

2011 ODI World Cup 

India’s 2011 ODI World Cup victory remains to be their iconic triumph to date. The fact that the Men in Blue won the World Cup on home soil in front of billions of people made it a larger-than-life event. To top it all off, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar finally won the trophy and drew a full circle to something that he wanted the most. To add more on the hopes and dreams, India’s win came at the Wankhede stadium, the ground where Tendulkar trained and went on to build an illustrious career.

Speaking about the tournament, India finished second during the group stage after registering four wins from six matches. However, Dhoni’s men changed gears in the knockout stages and got the better of Australia, the most successful team in World Cup history in the quarter-finals.

India’s next big task saw them take on arch rivals and neighbours Pakistan in the semi-finals. Both the sides rarely played each other after the diplomatic relationship between the countries was affected following the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. Amid all the tension, India defeated them by 29 runs in Mohali and edged closer to their aim by making it to the ICC ODI World Cup 2011 final.

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The Men in Blue did not have the best of starts in the clash as Mahela Jayawardene put pressure on the hosts with a sublime century. To make matters worse Sri Lanka star Lasith Malinga got rid of Virender Sehwag for a duck and dismissed Sachin Tendulkar early on to stun the audience into silence.

However, it was Gautam Gambhir again, who rose to the occasion, just like he did four years ago. He played a fighting knock of 97 to bring India back into the match. Indian captain MS Dhoni thought of a masterstroke and promoted himself up the order over Yuvraj Singh. His innings of 91* during the run-chase remains famous in cricket folklore. The triumph over Sri Lanka was sealed in the most magnificent way, with MS Dhoni launching the ball into the crowd to send the entire country into a frenzy.

India’s near misses in ICC World Cup

2003 World Cup

The Indian cricket team has reached the finals of the World Cup but fell one step short on two occasions. The first time took place during the 2003 ODI World Cup, which was being played by South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe. After winning the toss, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly decided to field first. It proved to be a wrong move as Australia openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist got their off to a flier while Ricky Ponting’s knock of 140 saw them put up a monstrous score of 359/2.

It became virtually impossible for India to get going at the Wanderers Stadium after Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed by Glenn McGrath in the very first over. While Virender Sehwag’s knock of 82 helped the team go down fighting, India ended up getting bowled out for 234. It saw Australia register an emphatic margin of victory by 125 runs, which by far remains the highest margin in the World Cup finals.

2007 World Cup

The Men in Blue also came up short for the second time during the ICC T20 World Cup Final in 2014 against Sri Lanka. Playing in Dhaka, Sri Lanka opted to field first, with the bowlers doing their job of restricting India to a mere score of 130 runs in 20 overs. The Indian batting unit failed badly, with Virat Kohli being the only shining light. The former India skipper led the way with a fine knock of 77 runs, but everyone else was below par. 

Sri Lanka completed the run chase with ease as Kumar Sangakkara captured the limelight in the second innings with an unbeaten half-century. The island nation won with 13 deliveries to spare by six wickets to give a fitting tribute to Lankan legends Sangakkara and Jayawardene, who called down the curtain on their magnificent careers.

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