1983 World Cup Semi-Finals

The 1983 World Cup was groundbreaking for many reasons. Starting with India’s victory against West Indies early in the tournament to their entry to the semi-finals, Kapil Dev’s India was doing magical things in the tournament. Facing England in England, not many gave India a chance. Conditions though turned out to be even as the surface was slow, allowing India’s medium pacers to ply their trade. England still had a strong bowling attack to defend the 213 they put on the board. India though, anchored by Yashpal Sharma and Mohinder Amarnath, and a quickfire knock from Sandeep Patil led India to the target. India made the Finals and won their World Cup as England was knocked out of its own tournament, failing to win the trophy, which they eventually did in 2019.

2007 T20 World Cup

The 2007 World Cup encounter remains a special one because of a rare incident from a rare player. Yuvraj Singh, India’s middle-order master made history, hitting six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad. India got off to a good start with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir making fifties. By the time Yuvraj came to bat, India were in a good position, looking to go from strength to strength. Words from Andrew Flintoff ended up fueling Yuvraj as he showed his wrath on Stuart Broad. He made 50 in 12 balls, which still remains the fastest in T20I cricket, and joint fastest in T20 Cricket. The second innings was not short of action as England came close, before stumbling after crossing 200.

2011 World Cup

The 2011 World Cup encounter remains one of the best in World Cup history. It was a World Cup which saw England provide a lot of drama in each of their encounters. A full days play, with 676 runs finished with the sides being inseparable. Neither could prove to be better than the other with scores leveled. After the first innings the fans already had their money’s worth. Sachin Tendulkar made a century, Sehwag got off to a good but teasing start, offering a lot of chances, and Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh made fifties.

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A solid score was on the board, but England were up to the challenge. There was an incredible amount of dew at the Chinnasamy that evening as Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell took a liking to Munaf Patel and Piyush Chawla. The pair were cruising before a late spell from Zaheer Khan bought India back in the game. England copied India with their own collapse, but still managed to take the game deep, completing a thrilling tie.

2013 ICC Champions Trophy Finals

The 2013 Champions Trophy Finals was another event that stood out in history. It gave MS Dhoni his third ICC trophy, allowing him to be the first captain to win each ICC trophy on offer at the time. From England’s point of view, the game showed their lack of flexibility, which peaked in the 2015 World Cup. Rain reduced the game to a 20 over a side match, which made it challenging for England, who had a side full of anchors like Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, along with rhythm bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

India though had players who were fresh from the IPL., allowing them to be better equipped for the change. Scoring a modest 129 on a sluggish track, India challenged England with good spin bowling. England though stayed in the game as their best short form players at the time in Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara kept England in the game. Ishant Sharma though, who was poor all game, came with a match changing over, picking up three wickets to turn the game around. His over allowed Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to finish the innings well and complete a win.

2019 World Cup

England came into the 2019 encounter against India in trouble. The game was seen as a blockbuster event with India doing well, and England looking a transformed side after the 2015 World Cup. Both sides came in as favorites but few weeks into the tournament, England’s aggressive style turned out to be an issue. Losses to Pakistan, Australia and Sri Lanka left their Semi-Final hopes in tatters. Needing a win against India who were on top of the table, Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy came out at their best, and swallowed India’s KulCha weapon. Finishing with 337, England still had to contend with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

In response, Virat Kohli looked as fluent as ever. Rohit Sharma struggled for timing but hung around and started looking dangerous as well after both got off to a slow start. Virat Kohli though fell against the run of play. Rishabh Pant batted well, but three wickets in the form of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant sealed the game. MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were in the middle with the target achievable, but with no batters to follow, MS Dhoni went for NRR maximization. The win allowed England to get back into the tournament which they eventually won.