The ICC Cricket World Cup has a very long history of 48 years. Ever since the first edition was played in 1975, a total of 11 editions have been played already and the 12th edition is going on right now in India. In those 48 years, only 6 teams have managed to win the ICC Cricket World Cup title.
A few teams have won the title multiple times as well. Australia is the most successful team in the tournament’s history. They have won 5 titles (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015) already in the tournament. India and West Indies have won the title two times in the ICC Cricket World Cup history. And Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and England have managed to win the title once. But do you know which are the two teams who won the Cricket World Cup without losing any single game in the edition? If not, we will tell you today in this article. So let’s start.
Teams who won the ICC Cricket World Cup title without losing any game in the tournament
1. West Indies
West Indies became the first team to win the ICC Cricket World Cup title in an inaugural edition in 1975. They also became the first team to win the title without losing a single game in the tournament.
West Indies’ 1975 campaign
The West Indies won all three games in the group stages of the tournament. They won their games against Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in the group stages.
After that, they won the semifinals against New Zealand by 5 wickets. They restrict NZ to a small total of 158 and chase down the target quite easily with 5 wickets left.
West Indies went on to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 1975 by beating Australia in the final. They won the match by 17 runs after scoring 291 in the first inning. Clive Lloyd scored an outstanding hundred and Gary Glimour took 5 wickets in the 2nd inning.
West Indies dominated again in 1979
West Indies defended the title in the 2nd edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1979. And again, they didn’t lose a single game in the tournament.
WI won both of their games against India and New Zealand in group stages. Due to rain, one of the WI’s games against Sri Lanka in the group stage got washed out.
In the semis, they won the game against Pakistan by 43 runs after scoring 293 in the first inning. They won the final one-sided at Lord’s against the host England by 92 runs.
That’s how, West Indies became the first team to win the 2 consecutive titles, also without losing any game in the tournament. It is very sad to see the situation of WI right now.
2. Australia
Australia, as we said earlier, is the most successful team in the tournament’s history with five titles. There was a time when Australia used to dominate the cricket world. They also became the first team to win three consecutive titles when they won in 1999, 2003, and 2007.
Also, Australia won the 2003 and 2007 titles without losing a single game in the tournament. It shows how dominating Australia was in those days.
Australia’s CWC 2003 campaign
In the pool stage, the Aussies won all of their 6 games against India, Zimbabwe, England, Pakistan, Netherlands, and Namibia.
They didn’t stop there and won all 5 games in the Super Six stage. In the knockouts, they won the semifinal against Sri Lanka. Then, they went on to win the final against India by 125 runs. It was their 3rd ICC Cricket World Cup title after 1987 and 1999.
Australia made it three in a row in 2007
After 1999 and 2003, Australia won the title in 2007 as well. And that too without losing any game in that edition as well.
After losing all the games in the Group stage and Super 8, they won the semifinal against the Proteas by 7 wickets. They won the final against Sri Lanka and lifted their 4th WC title. After that, they won their 5th title in 2015 as well.
So Australia and West Indies are the only two teams who won the ICC Cricket World Cup without losing a single game in the tournament.
Will India become the 3rd team to win the Cricket World Cup without losing a single game?
The way Team India is playing right now in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, there are possibility that they achieve this feat. Till now, India won all of their 8 games in the tournament. Their only game left in the round-robin stage is against the Netherlands.
India’s bowling attack is looking lethal with both, pacers and spinners bowling well as a unit. And their batters are looking in good touch too. If Team India clicked at the right time in the knockouts, we might see them lifting the cup for the third time.
What do you think? Will Team India win the title this time? Comment your predictions below in the comment section.
