Harsh Thakor Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 (edited) In my view the most fiercely contested or enthralling world cups were the editions of 1975, 1987 and 1992.They had fluctuations,ebb and flow and twists and turns like a Hollywood epic.They had games which were cliffhangers and had sensational turnabouts like a 360 degree change of plot .The winners or finalists were not the best of all world cups but from start to end there was an element of unpredictability . Of the 3 my final vote went for the 1987 edition,played in India and Pakistan.There were upsets in both the semi-finals and the final and almost half the games were cliff-hangers.Australia's 1 run win over India,Pakistan's 1 wicket win against West Indies,England's 3 wicket win v West Indies ,Australia's 3 run win over New Zealand are such examples of games going write down the wire.,with the plot continuously changing.The winners of such matches snatched victories from the brink of defeat when it looked as though the opponents only had to complete the final rites.The feature of the tournament was the knitting or revival of Australia from just a bunch of talented individual sinto a champion team and the spirit it blazed from the very start.Above all it beat both the favouries India and Pakistan on their home turf.No world cup had games with as much suspense till the very end. The 1975 world cup was the best one from the point of view of standard of cricket with a great final at Lords, England-Australia semi-final at Leeds and a most enthralling game between West Indies and Pakistan at Edgbaston where Pakistan snatched a 1 wicket defeat after being on the doorstep of a famous win with the Calypsos still 64 runs adrift with only 1 wicket standing.In the leeds semi -final Australia scampered home to a 93 run target after looking down the barrel at 39-6 before a sensational rally by Gary Gilmour.In the final Clive Lloyd played arguably the best ever world cup innings ever to take West Indies to a staggering total of 293-6.Australia made a most gallant chase falling just 17 runs adrift in the end,after a sensational 41 run last wicket stand between Lillee and Thomson.No world cup final was ever played in better spirit.,taking cricketing glory to such a height.Thus cricket at it's ultimate spirit. The 1992 world cup had a dramatic turn and twist with the ressurection of Pakistan into the scenario rising like a phoenix from the Ashes.Some enthralling encounters like Australia -India,South Africa-England etc in league stage and a sensational turnabout in the semi-final with Inzamam ressurecting Pakistan with the help of Miandad after his side looked in the doldrums.Sadly the England-South Africa semi-final was marred by rain and was technically awarded to England,which with 2 overs looked set to be an all-time classic. In 4th place I would choose the 2011 edition although favourites India won.India literally lifted itself out of the depths of despair with a sensational turnabout midway and hard-fought wins.There were also thrillers of India-South Africa,India-England and England-South Africa. My order of merit of most entertaining World cups 1.1987 2.1975 3.1992 4.2011 5.1983 6.1996 7.1999 8.2015 9.1979 10.2007 11.2003 Edited May 29, 2019 by Harsh Thakor Real McCoy 1 Link to comment
Forever Indian Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 (edited) The 1996 WC introduced me to Cricket, so I am biased towards that. It was refreshing to see the approach of SL and also loved the Ind Vs Pak QF game. Edited May 29, 2019 by Forever Indian CommonMan 1 Link to comment
Tattieboy Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 1975 for me The 70's was a great time for a teenager , this new tournament was so exciting , seeing all the world's best together . Some really great games added even more excitement to it all . The next year I was playing with one of those Pakistani bowlers telling us what it felt like not getting that last West Indies wicket Also the added attraction of everyone having a big laugh at Sunil Gavaskar scoring 36 in 60 overs The Dark Horse 1 Link to comment
Gollum Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 (edited) 1975, because this handsome played that edition. He played in 79 as well, but the Universe conspired against him leading to his poor show. Everyone was involved in the saazish: CIA, KGB, MI6, RAW, Mossad, Shah of Iran, Pepsi, Premier Padmini, KFC=BCCI, Baniya, Hugh Hefner, Darth Vader, Zeenat Aman.... Edited May 29, 2019 by Gollum Laaloo, Adi BB, I6MTW and 3 others 6 Link to comment
zen Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Usually, how the top 3-4 teams play dictates the quality of a tourney Starting with 90s 92: NZ played brilliantly and the first appearance of SA was impressive 96: SL 99: Aus, SA, Pak, NZ 03: Aus and Ind 07: Aus (did not follow much as Ind was KO) 11: Ind and SL 15: Aus and NZ Will go with 99, esp. because of Aus-SA rivalry, and how Aus won tons of games after losing to BD (iirc). Pak played some good cricket too. NZ was gritty Link to comment
vvvslaxman Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 Any world cup that had Majid khan is for me :) bahubali and Adi BB 2 Link to comment
Laaloo Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 I watched 96 but was too young so for me 2003 was the best. Our bowling was awesome to watch especially during those times up until the final. Shane bond was in great form that World Cup. So was lee and McGrath obviously. Link to comment
GolGappe Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 My two favorites 1999 and 2003 Link to comment
Austin 3:!6 Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 From the world cup's I have seen, below will be my preference: 2011 World Cup - Best world cup. Not saying because India won this event but it simply had great viewing as a cricket fan. It was not a batting shoot out like its subsequent edition but had something for everyone - batsman, seamers, spinners etc. Also being the first world cup in the social media era, the hype was enormous. The India-Pakistan semi finals in Mohali was perhaps the biggest cricket match I have ever witnessed. 2003 World Cup - It was a treat to watch the best cricket team ever assembled (Australian team) at their peak. We had a poor start against Holland and lost badly next game against Aussies. But the turn around we did from there was remarkable. Sachin's six over thrid man against Akhtar and that pull shot six against Caddick, Nehraji picking 6 wickets are some of the highlights. This world cup also saw perhaps the last time a decent Kenya team. World cup final remains a heart break...when the rain came before our imminent defeat, we all were praying for a wash out, so that next day we can have a new game but alas 1996 Wills world cup - My first world cup as a kid and still cant forget the memories. That loss in semi final still hurts and perhaps the biggest heart break as an Indian fan. With Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana both gone in the very first over, we all were expecting to play the final in Lahore. But it all went downhill from there. De-Silva played a gem of a knock and then crap eden garden pitch started turning square in the 2nd half. This world cup will always be Jayasuriya's world cup and in a way he changed the ODI batting forever. Then there are many other memories like Wasim chickeing out in all important quarter finals, Jadeja's assault on Waqar, Prasad sledging Sohail, Sachin's immaculate form, highest individual score (at that time) by Kirsten, jubilant Chinnaswamy to burning eden gardens, late Benajir bhutto handing over the prize to Ranatunga etc etc. Anyone remembers the opening ceremony when Sushmita Sen appeared on stage from underground? They dug the pitch for that stunt and many blamed poor eden pitch in that tournament due to this. 1999 World Cup - We simply didn't had the team to compete. Though Dravid was fantastic the whole tournament, unfortunate passing away of Sachin's father and then his poor form didn't help our cause. That defeat against Zimbabwe where Olonga took 3 wickets in last over was a punching blow. Debashish Mohanty was great for us in that tournament and used the English conditions very well. That Manchester game against Pakistan (when ganguly chickened out ) and SriLanka match were surely the best memories. That world cup will also be remembered for superb bowling by Geoff Allott (NZ) who went on to be the highest wicket taker, Klusener and Moin Khan's batting, South Africa Choke in the semi final, Pakistan losing (fixing ?) against BD, Pakistan bottling in the finals and presentation ceremony at Lords balcony had to cut short because a beer bottle been thrown at Aussies by a Pak fan and it hit Steve Waugh 2015 World Cup - One of the most boring world cup's. The pitches were batting heaven and bowlers were like bowling machine. It was merely a batting shootout and Teams were scoring 350+ for fun. Safe to say I have no fond memories but if I have to pick few - Sohail Khan fighting with Kohli and Misbah asked him (Sohail) to shut up, AB Devilliers crying after elimination, beating Bangladesh in the quarters and their fans went full crazy after that no ball, start and end of Project Raina, Mohit Sharma's grunts, Dhoni's teary eyes after we lost the semi final, Srinivasan getting booed by crowd during finals prize ceremony. However, the best memory of this world cup will and always remain the 'Mauka Mauka' ad series 2007 World Cup - Seriously, what the f-eck was that? A very poor world cup in all accounts starting from tragic death of Bob Woolmer to our early exit in the tournament. It was a forgettable tournament for me and thank god for that inaugural T20 world cup few months later which helped us forgot this debacle. nitinbwj 1 Link to comment
Nonbeliever Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 1999 and 2003, great players on good pitches. Link to comment
bowl_out Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 3 hours ago, Harsh Thakor said: In my view the most fiercely contested or enthralling world cups were the editions of 1975, 1987 and 1992.They had fluctuations,ebb and flow and twists and turns like a Hollywood epic.They had games which were cliffhangers and had sensational turnabouts like a 360 degree change of plot .The winners or finalists were not the best of all world cups but from start to end there was an element of unpredictability . Of the 3 my final vote went for the 1987 edition,played in India and Pakistan.There were upsets in both the semi-finals and the final and almost half the games were cliff-hangers.Australia's 1 run win over India,Pakistan's 1 wicket win against West Indies,England's 3 wicket win v West Indies ,Australia's 3 run win over New Zealand are such examples of games going write down the wire.,with the plot continuously changing.The winners of such matches snatched victories from the brink of defeat when it looked as though the opponents only had to complete the final rites.The feature of the tournament was the knitting or revival of Australia from just a bunch of talented individual sinto a champion team and the spirit it blazed from the very start.Above all it beat both the favouries India and Pakistan on their home turf.No world cup had games with as much suspense till the very end. The 1975 world cup was the best one from the point of view of standard of cricket with a great final at Lords, England-Australia semi-final at Leeds and a most enthralling game between West Indies and Pakistan at Edgbaston where Pakistan snatched a 1 wicket defeat after being on the doorstep of a famous win with the Calypsos still 64 runs adrift with only 1 wicket standing.In the leeds semi -final Australia scampered home to a 93 run target after looking down the barrel at 39-6 before a sensational rally by Gary Gilmour.In the final Clive Lloyd played arguably the best ever world cup innings ever to take West Indies to a staggering total of 293-6.Australia made a most gallant chase falling just 17 runs adrift in the end,after a sensational 41 run last wicket stand between Lillee and Thomson.No world cup final was ever played in better spirit.,taking cricketing glory to such a height.Thus cricket at it's ultimate spirit. The 1992 world cup had a dramatic turn and twist with the ressurection of Pakistan into the scenario rising like a phoenix from the Ashes.Some enthralling encounters like Australia -India,South Africa-England etc in league stage and a sensational turnabout in the semi-final with Inzamam ressurecting Pakistan with the help of Miandad after his side looked in the doldrums.Sadly the England-South Africa semi-final was marred by rain and was technically awarded to England,which with 2 overs looked set to be an all-time classic. In 4th place I would choose the 2011 edition although favourites India won.India literally lifted itself out of the depths of despair with a sensational turnabout midway and hard-fought wins.There were also thrillers of India-South Africa,India-England and England-South Africa. My order of merit of most entertaining World cups 1.1987 2.1975 3.1992 4.2011 5.1983 6.1996 7.1999 8.2015 9.1979 10.2007 11.2003 Why does 2003 rank so low? It was among the better World cups.. I started watching cricket in 1996... For me, 2003 and 2011 have been the best.. 2007 was probably the worst.. 2015 was fairly boring too. Link to comment
Suhaan Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, zen said: Usually, how the top 3-4 teams play dictates the quality of a tourney Starting with 90s 92: NZ played brilliantly and the first appearance of SA was impressive 96: SL 99: Aus, SA, Pak, NZ 03: Aus and Ind 07: Aus (did not follow much as Ind was KO) 11: Ind and SL 15: Aus and NZ Will go with 99, esp. because of Aus-SA rivalry, and how Aus won tons of games after losing to BD (iirc). Pak played some good cricket too. NZ was gritty Aus didn't loose to BD in that wc,infact Pak did Aus lost against NZ and Pak in group stage,the most inspiring thing was there zeal to top the super six stage without having carry over points Edited May 29, 2019 by Suhaan zen 1 Link to comment
bahubali Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 3 hours ago, Harsh Thakor said: In my view the most fiercely contested or enthralling world cups were the editions of 1975, 1987 and 1992.They had fluctuations,ebb and flow and twists and turns like a Hollywood epic.They had games which were cliffhangers and had sensational turnabouts like a 360 degree change of plot .The winners or finalists were not the best of all world cups but from start to end there was an element of unpredictability . Of the 3 my final vote went for the 1987 edition,played in India and Pakistan.There were upsets in both the semi-finals and the final and almost half the games were cliff-hangers.Australia's 1 run win over India,Pakistan's 1 wicket win against West Indies,England's 3 wicket win v West Indies ,Australia's 3 run win over New Zealand are such examples of games going write down the wire.,with the plot continuously changing.The winners of such matches snatched victories from the brink of defeat when it looked as though the opponents only had to complete the final rites.The feature of the tournament was the knitting or revival of Australia from just a bunch of talented individual sinto a champion team and the spirit it blazed from the very start.Above all it beat both the favouries India and Pakistan on their home turf.No world cup had games with as much suspense till the very end. The 1975 world cup was the best one from the point of view of standard of cricket with a great final at Lords, England-Australia semi-final at Leeds and a most enthralling game between West Indies and Pakistan at Edgbaston where Pakistan snatched a 1 wicket defeat after being on the doorstep of a famous win with the Calypsos still 64 runs adrift with only 1 wicket standing.In the leeds semi -final Australia scampered home to a 93 run target after looking down the barrel at 39-6 before a sensational rally by Gary Gilmour.In the final Clive Lloyd played arguably the best ever world cup innings ever to take West Indies to a staggering total of 293-6.Australia made a most gallant chase falling just 17 runs adrift in the end,after a sensational 41 run last wicket stand between Lillee and Thomson.No world cup final was ever played in better spirit.,taking cricketing glory to such a height.Thus cricket at it's ultimate spirit. The 1992 world cup had a dramatic turn and twist with the ressurection of Pakistan into the scenario rising like a phoenix from the Ashes.Some enthralling encounters like Australia -India,South Africa-England etc in league stage and a sensational turnabout in the semi-final with Inzamam ressurecting Pakistan with the help of Miandad after his side looked in the doldrums.Sadly the England-South Africa semi-final was marred by rain and was technically awarded to England,which with 2 overs looked set to be an all-time classic. In 4th place I would choose the 2011 edition although favourites India won.India literally lifted itself out of the depths of despair with a sensational turnabout midway and hard-fought wins.There were also thrillers of India-South Africa,India-England and England-South Africa. My order of merit of most entertaining World cups 1.1987 2.1975 3.1992 4.2011 5.1983 6.1996 7.1999 8.2015 9.1979 10.2007 11.2003 Wo sab to thik hai but ye bato GOAT sir Majeed Khan kis kis me sharik huey they..Only those were wcs rest all who cares... Link to comment
maniac Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 1987 WC a couple of things are stuck in my memory even though was very young. Here are a few things I remember vaguely There was an Ind-Pak day and night exhibition match in colored clothing which India won convincingly just before the WC David Houghton of Zimbabwe single handedly smashing the kiwis Azharuddin taking 3 wickets including a brilliant caught and bowled against Australia Gavaskar-Srikanth partnership where Sunny was absolutely killing it and Chetan Sharma hat trick against kiwis. Sunny being bowled in the semi finals against England. May be @Audiophile or @vvvslaxman or @Tattieboy can correct me but didn’t he do the crouching pose after getting bowled made famous by another fellow Mumbai legend . That’s my only memory of the semifinal 1992 was the first world cup I followed completely and I still rate 1991-1992 as my real start as a cricket fan. I liked the format then with the colored clothing and white ball. Even though the final was a bumme 1996 was during my 10th board exams so was only allowed to watch for a hour or 2 here and there saw the entire Ind-Pak qf game though. Totally worth it 1999 for me despite India’s poor show was the best WC. Lots of memorable moments The semifinal is singlehandedly the greatest game of cricket ever played. Loved the Aus-SA league game as well followed by Lance Kluesner, The Dada-Dravid partnership and total butt kicking of SL , India’s epic collapse against Zimbabwe, Win against Pakistan,Sachin losing his dad and coming back and scoring a 100, Pakistan losing to Bangladesh, the drubbing Pak got in the final, too many great moments. 2003 is my 2nd fav WC. 2011 had a feeling India was going to walk through . QF,Semis were tough games and the final meant a lot as a Sachin fan who followed his career throughout. From a result POV my fav wc as I didn’t watch the 1983 one. 2015 was meh. Link to comment
Gollum Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 38 minutes ago, Laaloo said: I watched 96 but was too young so for me 2003 was the best. Our bowling was awesome to watch especially during those times up until the final. Shane bond was in great form that World Cup. So was lee and McGrath obviously. Hey @Laaloo 2003 was the best Spoiler You sure? Regards Laaloo and Forever Indian 1 1 Link to comment
Ankit_sharma03 Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 among the ones i have seen - 2003 Link to comment
Deleted_User_1 Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 2 hours ago, maniac said: 1987 WC a couple of things are stuck in my memory even though was very young. Here are a few things I remember vaguely There was an Ind-Pak day and night exhibition match in colored clothing which India won convincingly just before the WC David Houghton of Zimbabwe single handedly smashing the kiwis Azharuddin taking 3 wickets including a brilliant caught and bowled against Australia Gavaskar-Srikanth partnership where Sunny was absolutely killing it and Chetan Sharma hat trick against kiwis. Sunny being bowled in the semi finals against England. May be @Audiophile or @vvvslaxman or @Tattieboy can correct me but didn’t he do the crouching pose after getting bowled made famous by another fellow Mumbai legend . That’s my only memory of the semifinal 1992 was the first world cup I followed completely and I still rate 1991-1992 as my real start as a cricket fan. I liked the format then with the colored clothing and white ball. Even though the final was a bumme 1996 was during my 10th board exams so was only allowed to watch for a hour or 2 here and there saw the entire Ind-Pak qf game though. Totally worth it 1999 for me despite India’s poor show was the best WC. Lots of memorable moments The semifinal is singlehandedly the greatest game of cricket ever played. Loved the Aus-SA league game as well followed by Lance Kluesner, The Dada-Dravid partnership and total butt kicking of SL , India’s epic collapse against Zimbabwe, Win against Pakistan,Sachin losing his dad and coming back and scoring a 100, Pakistan losing to Bangladesh, the drubbing Pak got in the final, too many great moments. 2003 is my 2nd fav WC. 2011 had a feeling India was going to walk through . QF,Semis were tough games and the final meant a lot as a Sachin fan who followed his career throughout. From a result POV my fav wc as I didn’t watch the 1983 one. 2015 was meh. Sunny was bowled by Phil DeFreitas in the semi-final, but I do not remember him doing the squats. Sunny usually just walked away in a hurry after getting out if he was sure he was out. maniac 1 Link to comment
Yoda-esque Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 1999 World cup had the two best teams.The semi Finals alone between SA and Aus is worth the WC. Link to comment
maniac Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 3 hours ago, Gollum said: Hey @Laaloo 2003 was the best Reveal hidden contents You sure? Regards How about the upper cut to shoaib. Half full half empty way of looking at things Austin 3:!6 and Laaloo 2 Link to comment
First class Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 2003 when I bought the most expensive and biggest TV I could buy for the WC and enjoyed it, now just did the same for 2019 hoping this will a great one also, after failing to buy tickets to watch the matches in stadium. Link to comment
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