Team India is one of the powerhouses in World Cups cricket at the moment. The nation began its cricketing journey in 1932 against England becoming the sixth nation to receive Test status. Since then, Team India has witnessed several highs in world cricket, becoming one of the dominant forces.
The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Virat Kohli, and other legendary cricketers graced the cricketing culture with their presence. The World Cups championships too played a major role in changing the cricketing scenario in India. In this article, we take a look at Team India’s World Cups triumphs over the years.
Let’s take a look at Team India’s World Cup wins:
| FORMAT | YEAR | OPPONENT | RESULT | VENUE |
| ODI | 1983 | WEST INDIES | WON BY 43 RUNS | LORD’S, LONDON |
| T20 | 2007 | PAKISTAN | WON BY 5 RUNS | WANDERERS, JOHANNESBURG |
| ODI | 2011 | SRI LANKA | WON BY 6 WICKETS | WANKHEDE, MUMBAI |
Let’s revisit Team India’s World Cup triumphs:
1983 Prudential Cup
Team India kicked off their 1983 Prudential Cup campaign against the defending champions West Indies. The Clive Lyod-led Team had won the inaugural 1975 World Cup as well as the 1979 World Cup. As far as the Indian team was concerned, mediocre performances led to crashing out of the group stages in both of these events.
Heading into the 1983 Prudential Cup, the Kapil Dev-led team wasn’t given any chance by many. However, they pulled off a historic win in their opening game. Team India won the match by 34 runs on the back of Yashpal Sharma’s 89 and three-wicket hauls by Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri. They secured four wins in their first four matches of the tournament.
However, losses to Australia and West Indies in the next two matches put India’s campaign in danger. The team seemed to be staring at another loss when they were reduced to 78/7 against Zimbabwe. The Indian skipper’s historic knock of an unbeaten 175 runs, changed the course of the match, as his team eventually won it by 31 runs. Securing a win against Australia in their final game, and defeating England in the semis, India reached the final of the 1983 Prudential Cup.
The Kapil Dev-led team was again up against the mighty West Indies. Clive Llyod, won the toss and sent India to bat first at the iconic Lord’s in London. Kris Srikkant’s valiant effort to score 38 runs was the highest score in the Indian innings, as they managed 183 runs on the board. With an uphill task on hand, Balvinder Singh Sandhu got the team off to a good start, dismissing Gordon Greenidge for five runs.
West Indies was soon reduced to 76 runs for the loss of six wickets. They tried to get back on the track, but wickets at regular intervals hampered their chase. Mohinder Amarnath’s iconic delivery to dismiss Michael Holding lbw won India their maiden World Cup title. Starting the tournament as the underdogs, the Indian team managed to pull off a World Cup win for the ages. Amarnath won the Player of the Series award for his all-round contribution. The 1983 Prudential Cup is remembered fondly by Indian fans, as the triumph which changed Indian cricket.
2007 T20 World Cup
The 2007 World Cup was the inaugural edition of the T20 championship. All the teams were unsure and figuring out the nuances of the new format. Young wicket-keeper batter MS Dhoni was handed the leadership duties, with the senior pros missing from the team. India’s campaign began with an abandoned game against Scotland. They took on the arch-rivals Pakistan in the second game. The game proved to be true to its hype, as the match ended in a tie and India won the game in the bowl-out round.
The MS Dhoni-led team lost their following encounter against New Zealand but did not let it affect their journey. Securing wins in the next two matches, India secured a place in the knockouts of the 2007 T20 World Cup. They faced Australia in the semis at the Kingsmed in Durban. Yuvraj Singh, who slammed six sixes in over in the league stages against England, once again took the centre stage. He slammed a 30-ball 70 to power India to 188 runs in the first innings. In response, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds took up the charge, however, Australia fell short by 15 runs.
Team India had to weather the threat of the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final, to lift the T20 World Cup. Batting first they put on 157 runs on the board, Gautam Gambhir’s 75, and a valuable 30 from Rohit Sharma. The chase began on a great note as Mohammad Hafeez was dismissed by RP Singh. After his wicket, Pakistan batters tried to stabilize the innings but kept losing wickets. Misbah-ul-Haq was solid at one end and took the game to the last over.
With 13 needed from six deliveries and the last pair at the crease, Joginder Sharma was handed the ball by skipper MS Dhoni. The pacer started off with a wide and was hit for a six by Misbah-ul-Haq in the first two deliveries. However, Sharma made a great comeback to dismiss the Pakistan batter, with Sreesanth taking a brilliant catch in the deep. With Misbah-ul-Haq’s dismissal, the Indian dressing room erupted in joy, winning the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.
2011 World Cup
The 2011 World Cup was a huge event for Indian fans. The pressure was immense on the Indian players even before the start of the tournament, as it was at their home in India. It was also legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cups. The team made it special, winning their second ODI World Cup. They began their campaign on a winning note, defeating Bangladesh by 87 runs. The second game was a thrilling encounter against England, which ended in a tie.
Team India won three out of their next four games and made it to the knockouts, where they faced Australia. A terrific century from Ricky Ponting made things difficult for the team in the Quarter-finals. However, a team effort, including half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and Yuvraj Singh saw India through. The MS Dhoni-led team defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals by 29 runs, to enter the final against Sri Lanka.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat first and put on 274 runs in the first innings. Mahela Jayawardene slammed 103 runs off 88 deliveries in the innings. Team India suffered early blows as Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag was dismissed early. However, Gautam Gambhir took on the challenge, playing probably the innings of his life. He missed out on a well-deserved century, scoring 97 runs. Skipper MS Dhoni finished off the World Cups in style with his iconic six at the Wankhede Stadium. India won the match by six wickets to lift their second ODI World Cups title.
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