ODI World Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history

The ODI World Cup has been widely regarded as the pinnacle of cricket since the first edition was played in 1975. The International Cricket Council (ICC) hosts this multi-nation cricket tournament every four years while considering it as the “flagship event of the international cricket calendar.” There are six different teams who have won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in its nearly 50-year history. The inaugural champions West Indies have earned the coveted title twice, and Australia have gotten their hands on the ODI World Cups five times, the most among all the participating teams. India have achieved World Cup glory in the one-day format twice, while Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the defending champions England have been successful in securing the silverware once. The 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup will be played in India, during the months of October and November later this year. Over the last five decades or so, this cricketing spectacle has seen its fair share of great moments, still fondly remembered by fans worldwide. But, at the same time, there have been a few ill-fated incidents in the tournament, which aren’t the favourites of the players or fans. Here are the five most heated moments in ODI World Cup history. Shane Watson vs Wahab Riaz in 2015 During the ODI World Cup 2015 quarter-final match between Australia and Pakistan in Adelaide, the hosts were 59/3 in the 11th over while chasing the 214-run target, with two of their best batters David Warner and Michael Clarke back in the shed. Wahab Riaz, who was breathing fire with the ball, welcomed Shane Watson to the crease with a nasty bouncer while gesturing at the batter, presumably, telling him to get bat on the ball. The duel between these two started when Watson poked fun at Riaz’s batting ability in the first innings. During his fiery spell, the Pakistani fast bowler had the Australian batter nearly caught down at the fine leg region, but the catch was dropped by Rahat Ali. Eventually, Shane Watson managed to work his way past Wahab Riaz to hand his side a place in the World Cup semi-final at home. #PAGE_BREAK# Waqar Younis vs Andrew Symonds in 2003 When Pakistan faced Australia in their first match of the ODI World Cup 2023 at Johannesburg, Waqar Younis and Andrew Symonds had a fiery spat on the field. Their confrontation began after the Pakistan captain bowled two beamers, one after another in quick succession toward the Australian middle-order player, after getting smashed for a six. The first beamer from Younis was harmless as it went past Symonds without troubling him. But the second beamer seemed like a reckless attempt at causing an injury from the Pakistan bowler, which had made the Australia batter take evasive action. This led to Andrew Symonds confronting Waqar Younis in the middle of the pitch, as the umpire intervened and ruled the Pakistan captain out of the bowling attack. Australia managed to win this match comfortably while defending the 310-run total. #PAGE_BREAK# India’s elimination from the ODI World Cup in 1996 India’s quarter-final elimination from the ODI World Cup 1996 has been heralded as one of the darkest days in the history of cricket for this great nation. On that fateful day in Kolkata, Sri Lanka had set the target of 252, and in response, the hosts were in a good position, nearing the 100 total, with their talisman Sachin Tendulkar still at the crease. But when he was dismissed for 65, the Indian batting started to crumble under the pressure of the run chase, on a pitch that was increasingly helping the Sri Lankan spinners. When India were at 120/8, the fans in Kolkata had enough, and they hurled bottles, plastic bags, cans, and other foreign objects in the playing area, which led to Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga and his players refusing to take the field. Then, the people torched papers and burnt other things on the grandstands. This led to the match referee taking an inspection of the ground, and eventually, awarding the match to Sri Lanka. The image of a teary-eyed Vinod Kambli, who was not out when the incident happened, is still fresh in people’s minds. #PAGE_BREAK# Javed Miandad vs Kiran More in 1992 One of the most unforgettable incidents in the ODI World Cup history occurred during the 1992 edition when India defeated Pakistan in Sydney. During the pursuit of 217 run target, Javed Miandad had a heated war of words with Kiran More, who appealed to the umpire for a caught behind on Sachin Tendulkar’s delivery which went down the leg side. Miandad complained to the umpire about the appeal, but More had other ideas. Later in the same over, the wicket-keeper dislodged the stumps trying to run out the batter, who was inside the crease. This led to the Pakistan cricketer mocking the Indian counterpart while shouting animatedly. Moments later, Javed Miandad held his bat in both hands to jump up and down, quite like a frog, in a hilarious manner. #PAGE_BREAK# Venkatesh Prasad vs Aamir Sohail in 1996 The India and Pakistan rivalry is known as one of the most dramatic of all, not just in the cricket field, but across all sports. One such tense day occurred during the ODI World Cup 1996 when Venkatesh Prasad and Aamir Sohail got involved in an ugly spat in Bengaluru. The heated moment occurred when Sohail charged down the track and smashed Prasad towards the cover boundary. After hitting the stroke, the Pakistan opener pointed his bat and finger at the Indian fast bowler, before gesturing at him to hit the boundary towards the cover region again. On the next ball, when Aamir Sohail charged him, he swung his bat but managed to catch only the thin air before his stumps were uprooted. In his follow-through, Venkatesh Prasad was jubilant as he pointed at the Pakistan batter to go back into the pavilion to the rocking reception of the crowd in attendance. This pulsating cricket match was won by the Indian cricket team.

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ODI World Cup: Five most heated moments in tournament's history