Ten Closest Matches in ICC ODI World Cup Over the years, one-day cricket has produced some great matches. A description of ten of the closest and most thrilling ICC ODI World Cup matches is given below. The matches have been arranged in chronological order: 1. 11th June 1975 - Edgbaston - Pakistan vs West Indies. - West Iindies won by 1 wicket This must rank as one of the greatest ODI matches of all time. Electing to bat, Pakistan scored 266/7. Captain Majid Khan was majestic in his innings of 60; he was assisted by contributions or 55 and 58 from Mushtaq Mohammad and Wasim Raja respectively. When West Indies batted, Sarfraz Nawaz ran amuck. West Indies, with a batting lineup that included Greenidge, Kallicharan, Kanhai, Lloyd and Richards, were reduced to 203-9. However, the last wicket partnership of Murray and Robersts stymied Pakistan. West Indies won with 2 balls remaining. Sarfraz, with 4-44, was adjudged the man of the match. If West Indies had lost this match, they might not have made it to the semi-finals. As things turned out, they went on to lift the trophy. Not only that, they won the Cup in 1979 as well. They remained undefeated in ICC ODI World Cup matches till 1983, when their run was finally stopped by India. Scores: Pakistan - 266/7 West Indies - 267/9 2. 9th Oct 1987 - Chennai - Australia vs India - Australia won by 1 run Put in to bat, Australia scored 270, with Geoff Marsh scoring a century. When India batted, Srikanth hit 70 and Sidhu scored 73. Captain Kapil Dev was 7th out when the team score was 256. The next two batsmen were run out, and India just could not get over the finish line. The fell one run short. Scores: Austtalia 270/6 India 269 all out 3. 16th Oct 1987 - Lahore - West Indies vs Pakistan Pakistan won by 1 wicket West Indies won the toss and elected to bat. They were bundled out for 216, with the irrepressible Imran Khan taking 4-37. When Pakistan batted, Walsh hit back with 4-40, but Pakistan just about squeaked home. Captain Salim Yousuf scored 56 and was declared the man of the match. Scores: West Indies 216 all out Pakistan 217/9 4. 1st Mar 1992 - Brisbane - Australia vs India Australia won by 1 run Australia won the toss and elected to bat. They put up a score of 237/9, the main contribution coming from Dean Jones who scored 90. For India, Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar took 3 wickets each. When India batted, they lost both their two top scorers Azharuddin (93) and Manjrekar (47) to run outs. Moody took 3 wickets and India lost by 1 run, the revised target being 236. Scores: Australia 237/9 India 234 all out 5. 17th June 1999 - Edgbaston - semi-final - Australia vs South Africa - Match tied This was the match which defined the South African team as 'chokers'. They won the toss and put Australia in. The Kangaroos could only score 213, with Shaun Pollock taking five and Alan Donald four. For the Aussies, Steve Waugh scored 56 and Michael Bevan 65. The Proteas lost wickets regularly; their ninth wicket fell at 198. However, Klusener, in the company of Donald, brought South Africa to the brink of victory. Then, with the scores tied, Donald was overcome by a moment of madness and was run out. Warne, with 4/29, was the man of the match. Australia advanced to the finals as they had beaten South Africa in the group game. They went on to win the tournament. Scores: Australia 213 all out South Africa 213 all out 6. 3rd Mar 2003 - Durban - Sri Lanka vs South Africa - match tied Sri Lanka scored 268/9, after choosing to bat. Atapattu scored a glorious 124. Kallis took 3/41. When South Africa batted, they were set a revised target of 230 in 45 overs. Gibbs scored 73 and Boucher remained unbeaten with 45. Boucher and Klusener were at the crease when rain interrupted the game. Due to a misunderstanding, they thought the revised target was 229, and hence did not attempt another run. The match was therefore tied. It was South Africa's last league game, and the result meant that they missed out on a semi-finals berth. Scores: Sri Lanka 268/9 South Africa 229/6 (45 overs) 7. 28th Mar 2007 - Providence, Guyana - Sri Lanka vs South Africa - South Africa won by 1 wicket Electing to bat, Sri Lanka made 209, with Dilshan and Arnold scoring half-centuries. Langeveldt grabbed a fifer. In reply, South Africa were cruising at 160/3. Kallis scored 83. Suddenly, however, they collapsed to 207/9. Malinga took 4 wickets. Peterson and Langeveldt kept their heads and saw the Springboks home. Scores: Sri Lanka 209 all out South Africa 212/9 8. 21st April 2007 - Bridgetown - West Indies vs England - England won by 1 wicket West Indies were put in by England, and put up a total of 300, with Smith and Samuels hitting fifties. It was not enough, as England scraped through with one wicket to spare. Vaughan scored 79 and Pieterson 100. Scores: West Indies 300 all out England 301/9. 27th Feb 2011 - Bangalore - India vs England - match tied India won the toss and elected to bat. They scored what looked like a match-winning 338. Tendulkar blasted 120 in his inimitable style, and Bresnan took a fifer for England. Strauss was not prepared to throw in the towel and out-did Tendulkar, scoring 158. Bell too contributed 69, and the match eventually ended in a tie. Scores: India 338 all out England 338 for 8 10. 28th Feb 2015 - Auckland - Australia vs New Zealand - New Zealand won by 1 wicket Australia batted after winning the toss. They collapsed for 151, Boult taking 5/27. The Kangaroos refused to knuckle under, as is their wont. They reduced the Kiwis to 146/9, Starc taking 6/28. However, Williamson, with an unbeaten 45, saw New Zealand home in the company of Boult. Scores: Australia 151all out New Zealand 152/9 Apart from these ten matches, there have been some other very close encounters during ODI World Cups: 15th June 1983 - Edgbaston - England vs New Zealand - New Zealand won by 2 wickets 9th Oct 1987 - Gujranwala - West Indies vs England - England won by 2 wickets 10th Oct 1987 - Hyderabad (India) - New Zealand vs Zimbabwe - New Zealand won by 3 runs 18th Oct 1987 - Indore - Australia vs New Zealand - Australia won by 3 runs 14th Mar 1996 - semi-final - Australia vs West Indies - Mohali - Australia won by 5 runs 19th May 1999 Zimbabwe vs India - Leicester- Zimbabwe won by 3 runs 9th Feb 2003 - Capetown - West Indies vs South Africa - West Indies won by 3 runs 15th Mar 2007 - Kingston - Ireland vs Zimbabwe - match tied 4th Apr 2007 - Antigua - Sri Lanka vs England - Sri Lanka won by 2 runs 26th Feb 2015 - Dunedin - Scotland vs Afghanistan - Afghanistan won by 1 wicket Let us hope that this edition of the World Cup produces even more exciting games!

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