World Cup final: Here's India’s record in ICC finals; MS Dhoni tops list

Backed by millions of fans at home and around the world, India are eyeing the ICC World Cup 2023 trophy as they get ready to face five-time champions Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday (November 19).

India featuring in an ICC event final is not new. The first-ever major cricket trophy won by India was in 1983 when the Kapil Dev-led team stunned the mighty West Indies at Lord’s in England.

So far, India have made it to 11 ICC tournament finals, and will be making their 12th appearance in an ICC summit clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Here is a look at India’s record in ICC finals, from 1983 onwards.

India in ICC finals: Played 11, Won 5 (1983, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2013), Lost 6

Indian captains with ICC titles: Kapil Dev (1), Sourav Ganguly (1), MS Dhoni (3)

1983 World Cup final (Won); June 25, 1983, Lord’s, England

Result: India won by 43 runs

India defeated the West Indies in the final of the 1983 Prudential World Cup at Lord’s in England. The Kapil Devil-captained side denied a hat-trick of World Cups for the Caribbean outfit.

Brief Scores

India 183 all out in 54.4 overs (Kris Srikkanth 38, Sandeep Patil 27; Andy Roberts 3/32), Malcolm Marshall 2/24, Michael Holding 2/26, Larry Gomes 2/49)

West Indies 140 all out in 52 overs (Viv Richards 33, Jeff Dujon 25; Mohinder Amarnath 3/12, Madan Lal 3/32, Balwinder Sandhu 2/32)

2000 ICC Knockout final (Lost); October 15, 2000, Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi

Result: New Zealand beat India by 4 wickets

Captain Sourav Ganguly’s century went in vain as India lost to New Zealand in the final. The Kiwis rode on Chris Cairns’ unbeaten ton to lift the trophy.

Brief Scores

India 264/6 in 50 overs (Sourav Ganguly 117, Sachin Tendulkar 69; Scott Styris 2/53)

New Zealand 265/6 in 49.4 overs (Chris Cairns 102 not out, Chris Harris 46, Nathan Astle 37; Venkatesh Prasad 3/27, Anil Kumble 2/55)

2002 ICC Champions Trophy (Joint Winners); September 29, 30, 2002, R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Result: No Result; India, and Sri Lanka declared joint winners after rain

Rain played spoilsport for two days including the reserve day, and eventually the trophy was shared.

Brief Scores (Reserve Day)

Sri Lanka 222/7 in 50 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 77, Russel Arnold 56 not out; Zaheer Khan 3/44)

India 38/1 (Virender Sehwag 25 not out)

Brief Scores (Main Final Day)

Sri Lanka 244/5 in 50 overs (Sanath Jayasuriya 74, Kumar Sangakkara 54; Harbhajan Singh 3/27)

India 14/0 in 2 overs (Virender Sehwag 13 not out)

2003 ICC World Cup final (Lost); March 23, 2003, New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Result: Australia beat India by 125 runs

India’s superb run in the 2003 World Cup under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy was halted by Australia. India lost two matches in the entire tournament – both to Australia.

Brief Scores

Australia 359/2 in 50 overs (Ricky Ponting 140 not out, Damien Martyn 88 not out, Adam Gilchrist 57; Harbhajan Singh 2/49)

India 234 all out in 39.2 overs (Virender Sehwag 82, Rahul Dravid 47; Glenn McGrath 3/52, Brett Lee 2/31, Andrew Symonds 2/7)

2007 ICC World Twenty20 final (Won); September 24, 2007, New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

Result: India beat Pakistan by 5 runs

India won the inaugural ICC T20 tournament in a tense finish in Johannesburg. This event saw seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and others opting out. New captain MS Dhoni led the team and surprised all by becoming the champions.

Brief Scores

India 157/5 in 20 overs (Gautam Gambhir 75, Rohit Sharma 30 not out; Umar Gul 3/28)

Pakistan 152 all out in 19.3 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 43, Imran Nazir 33; RP Singh 3/26, Irfan Pathan 3/16, Joginder Sharma 2/20)

2011 ICC World Cup (Won); April 2, 2011, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Result: India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets

India’s wait for their second 50-over World Cup trophy ended after 28 years. Dhoni’s six sealed the title for India. He scored 91 not out and won the Player of the match award. Gautam Gambhir top-scored with 97.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka 274/6 in 50 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 103, Kumar Sangakkara 48; Yuvraj Singh 2/49, Zaheer Khan 2/60)

India 277/4 in 48.2 overs (Gautam Gambhir 97, MS Dhoni 91 not out, Virat Kohli 35; Lasith Malinga 2/42)

2013 ICC Champions Trophy final (Won); June 23, 2013, Edgbaston, Birmingham

Result: India beat England by 5 runs

The 50-over contest was reduced to 20 overs per side due to rain. Ishant Sharma turned the game with two wickets off successive balls in the 18th over. He dismissed set batsmen – Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara. Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round show won him the Player of the match award. With this title, at the time, Dhoni became the first captain to win all three ICC trophies. Later, ICC started the World Test Championship.

Brief Scores

India 129/7 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 43, Ravindra Jadeja 33 not out, Shikhar Dhawan 31; Ravi Bopara 3/20)

England 124/8 in 20 overs (Eoin Morgan 33, Ravi Bopara 30; Ravichandran Ashwin 2/15, Ravindra Jadeja 2/24, Ishant Sharma 2/36)

2014 ICC World Twenty20 final (Lost); April 6, 2014, Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur

Result: Sri Lanka beat India by 6 wickets

This match saw fans attacking 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh for his 21-ball 11. Virat Kohli top-scored with 77 but India finished with a below-par total of 130.

Brief Scores

India 130/4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 77, Rohit Sharma 29)

Sri Lanka 134/4 in 17.5 overs (Kumar Sangakkara 54 not out)

2017 ICC Champions Trophy final (Lost); June 18, 2017, Kennington Oval, London

Result: Pakistan beat India by 180 runs

India’s batting collapsed against the fast bowling of Pakistan. Hardik Pandya waged a lone battle with 76.

Brief Scores

Pakistan 338/4 in 50 overs (Fakhar Zaman 114, Azhar Ali 59, Babar Azam 46)

India 158 all out in 30.3 overs (Hardik Pandya 76; Mohammad Amir 3/16, Hasan Ali 3/19, Shadab Khan 2/60)

2021 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final (Lost); June 18 to 23, 2021, The Rose Bowl, Southampton

Result: New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets

India made it to the final of the inaugural WTC final but poor batting in both innings let them down.

Brief Scores

India 217 (Ajinkya Rahane 49, Virat Kohli 44, Rohit Sharma 34; Kyle Jamieson 5/31) and 170 (Rishabh Pant 41; Tim Southee 4/48, Trent Boult 3/39, Kyle Jamieson 2/30)

New Zealand 249 (Devon Conway 54, Kane Williamson 49, Tim Southee 30; Mohammed Shami 4/76, Ishant Sharma 3/48, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/28) and 140/2 (Kane Williamson 52 not out, Ross Taylor 47 not out)

2023 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final (Lost); June 7 to 11, 2023, Kennington Oval, London

Result: Australia beat India by 209 runs

India once again lost the WTC final, this time to Australia. It was batting failure in both innings that led to India’s defeat.

Brief Scores

Australia 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121, Alex Carey 48, David Warner 43; Mohammed Siraj 4/108) and 270/8 declared (Alex Carey 66 not out; Ravindra Jadeja 3/58)

India 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51, Ravindra Jadeja 48; Pat Cummins 3/83) and 234 (Virat Kohli 49, Ajinkya Rahane 46, Rohit Sharma 43; Nathan Lyon 4/41, Scott Boland 3/46)