ODI World Cup

Exclusive: Top 5 Memorable Moments from World Cup 2007

Australia’s hat-trick of world cup wins, India and Pakistan’s shocking exit and many more as we look at the top memorable moments from World Cup 2007.

World Cup 2007 for many is known for two specific reasons, 

  1. An infamous format that led to shocking exits of heavyweights, India and Pakistan.
  2. Australia marked their dominance further by making it a hat-trick of World Cup wins.

But, how did the tournament unfold as a whole? What were some specific moments that hold special significance? Let’s find out in our top 5 memorable moments from World Cup 2007. 

ICC WORLD CUP 2007

Winners: Australia | Runners-up: Srilanka

Hosts: West Indies

Man of the Tournament:

Glenn McGrath: Inns: 11 | Wkts: 26 | Eco: 4.42  


#5: MINNOWS BANGLADESH STUN INDIA

Team India had gone into World Cup 2007 under the leadership of captain, Rahul Dravid and coach, Greg Chappell.

With a solid batting line-up, it was surprising to see how Team India struggled against an infamous bowling line-up of Bangladesh. 

Batting first, India had Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly as their opening pair as they opted to play Sachin Tendulkar at number 4, a ‘Not-so-wise’ decision.

Nevertheless, India never looked like holding a partnership as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Sourav Ganguly made a patient 66(129) as India were bundled out for a meager 191. 

It was also India’s legendary wicket-keeper and captain, MS Dhoni’s World Cup debut match, but unfortunately, he got out on a duck. 

Bangladesh reckoned a golden chance to cause a major upset as  Tamim Iqbal took the attack to the opposition. His attacking 51(53) gave Bangladesh a much-needed momentum as Mushfiqur Rahim held the fort at the other end with his cautious 56(107).

In the end, Shakib Al Hasan’s 53(86) guided Bangladesh to a historic win as India’s World Cup campaign got off to a shaky start.

Mashrafe Mortaza was awarded the man of the match for his brilliant 4-38.

 #4: IRELAND SHOCK PAKISTAN IN ANOTHER MAJOR UPSET

In yet another shocking incident on the same day of Team India’s shocking defeat to Bangladesh, Pakistan suffered a similar feat as they went down to Ireland in a low-scoring match.

Batting first, Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan early as Pakistan were reeling at 15-2 in 3.3 overs.

A small partnership from Imran Nazir and Mohammad Yousuf did give Pakistan some stability, however, as soon as Yousuf fell on 56, Pakistan lost the momentum as they started losing wickets, and were eventually bundled out for 132.

Pakistan didn’t have a lethal bowling line-up then, and Ireland fancied their chances of making an upset.

Courtesy to O’Brien brothers, Ireland chased the target in 41.4 overs, thus causing another major upset.

#3: GLENN MCGRATH’S EPIC CONSISTENCY 

Finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker even without taking a single 4-wicket or a 5-wicket haul speaks lengths about Glenn McGrath’s consistency throughout the World Cup 2007.

Glenn McGrath finished the tournament with a total of 26 wickets from 11 innings at an astonishing average of 13.73 and an economy rate of 4.41. That’s an impressive 2.37 wickets per innings without taking a 4-wicket haul.

Glenn McGrath didn’t go wicketless and took 2 wickets or more on 9 of the 11 occasions. That’s an amazing consistency, and that awarded him the Player of the Tournament award.

He is one of the only three players to have won three World Cups. The other two are his teammates, Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. 

#2: ADAM GILCHRIST’S RECORD 149 RUNS IN A WORLD CUP FINAL

The man of the final, Adam Gilchrist smashed a record 149(104) against Srilanka in a World Cup final. This is the highest individual score by any player in a World Cup final.

The innings had such a huge impact that he single-handedly managed to score 53.02% of the team’s runs (281) with the next highest score being at 38 by his opening partner, Matthew Hayden. 

Adam Gilchrist smashed 13 fours and 8 maximums as he smashed 149 within 30 overs at a blazing strike rate of 143.26.

If not the best, it has to be one of the best knocks in a World Cup knockout match. 

#1: AUSTRALIA MAKE HAT-TRICK OF WORLD CUP WINS 

Another World Cup, another dominant show by the Australians as they complete a hat-trick of World Cup wins after beating Sri Lanka in another one-sided final.

Batting first, Australia rode to a competitive 281, riding on Adam Gilchrist’s 149.  In reply, Sri Lanka could manage only 215-8 in 36 overs, thus losing the match by 53 runs according to D/L method. 

Australia started their dominant show at the World Cup 1999 after their group stage match against Pakistan. After their loss to Pakistan, they have been unbeaten in the World until the finals of World Cup 2007. That’s a record run of 30 matches without any loss. 

In these 30 matches, they won three World Cups after defeating Pakistan in the World Cup 1999, India in the World Cup 2003 and Sri Lanka in the World Cup 2007.


So, these are the top 5 most memorable moments from ICC World Cup 2007. Some other World Cup 2007 moments which also deserve a special mention are

  1. Bangladesh causing another major upset by defeating South Africa
  2. Imran Nazir’s superb 160(121) against Zimbabwe 
  3. Virender Sehwag smashing Team India’s lone century
  4. Matthew Hayden’s attacking 101(68) against South Africa
  5. Andrew Hall’s fantastic 5-18 against England
  6. Lasith Malinga’s 4 wickets in 4 balls against South Africa  

SOME INTERESTING FACTS FROM WORLD CUP 2007:

  1. Most Runs: Matthew Hayden (AUS)- 659 Runs | 10 Inns
  2. Most Wickets: Glenn McGrath (AUS)- 23 Wickets | 11 Inns
  3. Highest Individual Score: Imran Nazir (PAK)- 160(121)
  4. Highest Strike Rate (Min 200 Runs): Adam Gilchrist (AUS) – 103.89
  5. Best Economy Rate (Min 30 overs): Shane Bond (NZ)- 3.05

Do watch this space for me. We will be covering the top ICC World Cup moments of other editions in future articles.


READ MORE: World Cup 2019: Afghanistan stuns Pakistan in the warm-up match


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