2023 ICC World Cup: India's journey at World Cup finals so far

2023 ICC World Cup Final: India moved into the ICC World Cup final 2023 beating New Zealand by 70 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (November 15). At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19, 2023), India will play against the winners of the semi-final match between South Africa and Australia, which is being held on Thursday (November 16) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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India are high on winning all their 10 matches, including semi-final, at the ongoing World Cup.

Their star batsmen Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul are firing on all cylinders.

Also Read: 2023 ICC World Cup: Virat Kohli vs Australia; know the ODI batting records and stats

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have rattled almost every opposition to guide India to their fourth final appearances in the 48-year-old history.

In this write-up, ZeeBiz takes you through the instances when India have played World Cup finals.  

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1983 Prudential Cup

Given India's record in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups, when they finished sixth and seventh out of eight teams, respectively, no one would have thought that the team would move into the last-four stage, let alone winning the title in 1983.

But it was a new team under the captaincy of new captain, Kapil Dev.

But in the opening Group B match, India delivered a shocker, beating a two-time world champion West Indies by 34 runs, their first-ever defeat in a World Cup.

India beat the new team Zimbabwe, but lost to Australia and also to the West Indies later on.

They were reeling at 17 for 5 in a return fixture against Zimbabwe when Kapil Dev played a marathon innings of 175 not out to take the match from the jaws of Zimbabwe.

In the match that would help India qualify for the semi-final, India shocked Australia, defeating them by 118 runs.

The win would trigger another two defeats in the next five days.

India played England in Manchester in the semi-final and beat them by six wickets courtesy of Yashpal Sharma's 61 runs and Sandeep Patil's unbeaten 51.

In the title clash, India were up against the West Indies, who had thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets in their semi-final.

When the West Indies bowled out India for 183 in the final at the Lord's, London, it appeared that it was all over for India.

But it was the bowlers' day. Man-of-the-Match Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each as India beat the mighty West Indians by 43 runs to win their maiden title and defend the lowest-ever total in a World Cup final till date.   

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2003 Cricket World Cup

Sourav Ganguly led a young and energetic Indian team and Sachin Tendulkar was at his peak form in this World Cup.

But India were playing up against the best Australian team ever, which had the likes of Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Bevan, Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath.

Australia won all their 11 matches in the tournament. India beat every oppositions, except Australia, in the league stage, and in the final at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

India were never in the match right from the beginning as Zaheer Khan gave 20 runs in the first over.

Adam Gilchrist 57 runs (48 balls) and Matthew Hayden 37 runs (54 balls) gave a solid start to Australia.

When they departed, Ricky Ponting and Damien Martyn held the fort and didn't not let fall any wicket thereafter.

Ponting remained unbeaten at 140 runs (121 balls), while Martyn scored 88 runs (84 balls) as Australia piled up 359 runs for two in 50 overs, the highest total in a World Cup final.

India were off to a poor start when Tendulkar fall for four runs to McGrath.

It evoked a feeling of helplessness among Indian players as only Virender Sehwag 82 runs (81 balls) and Rahul Dravid 47 runs (57 balls) could salvage some pride.

Australia bowled out India for 234 runs in 39.2 overs to lift their record third World Cup title.

Also Read: India vs Australia, World Cup final in 2003 vs 2023: Can India change the course of history in the final?

2011 World Cup

The World Cup returned to India for the first time after 1996.

India's star batsman Tendulkar has written many record books to his name, but he didn't have a World Cup title in his resume.

The Indian team was strong with the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.

India were high on beating Australia and Pakistan in the quarter-final and semi-final, respectively.

In the title clash, they were up against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2.

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara 48 runs (67 balls) and Mahela Jayawardene 103 not out (88 balls) rose to the occasion and played useful innings in the middle-order to take their team to a fighting total of 274 for 6 in 50 overs.

From India, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh took two wickets each. In reply, India stutter to a poor start as Virender Sehwag was out for a zero while Tendulkar fell for 18 runs.

But first Gautam Gambhir 97 runs (122 balls) helped India stage a superb recovery with the help of Virat Kohli 35 runs (49 balls) and then MS Dhoni 91 runs not out (79 balls) ensured that India stay on course of victory.

Dhoni notched up second World Cup title for India with a booming six off Kulasekara into the stands, watching his shot with his piercing eyes and raising the bat to celebrate the crown.

The team had a victory lap with Tendulkar sitting on the teammates' shoulders.

2023 World Cup

India have had a dream run in the World Cup so far.

They beaten New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan convincingly in the round-robin match.

In the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, they piled up 397 for four in 50 overs courtesy Virat Kohli's record 50th ton and Shreyas Iyer's back-to-back century.

New Zealand staged a good recovery after early setbacks when skipper Kane Williamson and Daryll Mitchell made quick runs in the middle order, but Mohammed Shami's spell of 7 for 57 ensured India had a comfortable 70-run victory in the match.

In the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday (November 17), India will meet the winners of the semi-final match between South Africa and Australia at the Eden Gardens on Thursday (November 16).

India have won 10 matches on the trot and they are yet to lose a match in this World Cup.