England’s 3 biggest upsets against underdogs in the ODI World Cup ft. 2023

The ICC ODI World Cup has seen plenty of upsets fold up over the years and the recent one in the Match 13 between England and Afghanistan couldn’t be afforded to miss.

The biggest means for any sporting event to garner eyeballs is to expect an upset. England is one such dominant side in the quadrennial tournament to have its own share of disappointments in World Cup history.

Let’s have a quick look at the three times the Three Lions suffered shocking defeats against lower-ranked teams in the prestigious ICC event.

3 big upsets for England in the ODI World Cup history

#1 Afghanistan, 2023 World Cup, October 15, Delhi

Afghanistan scripted history on October 15, 2023, with a commanding 69-run victory against defending World Cup champions England in Delhi. The Afghanistan spinners did the trick to keep the star-studded England batting order at bay.

While chasing an under-par score of 285 on a pitch that offered marginal gains for the spinners, England needed a powerful start from its top order. But Afghanistan sent the dangerous Jonny Bairstow and the cool-headed Joe Root back to the pavilion in the powerplay. Soon, Jos Buttler’s men reeled at 138 for 6 at one stage.

Though Harry Brook carried the task of resurrecting the chase in the middle, there was nothing he could do against the potent turn of Mujee ur Rahman and Rashid Khan with the duo sharing six wickets between them. Senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi returned with two dismissals while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq claimed a scalp each as England’s innings folded up for 215.

Earlier in the game, Afghanistan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80) and Ibrahim Zadran (28) provided a flying start to the innings with the former being the wrecker-in-chief. Wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil scored a vital half-century in the middle.

#2 Bangladesh, 2015 World Cup, March 9, Adelaide

It was a make-it-or-break-it situation for England to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup. Meanwhile, a win for Bangladesh was enough to book their berth in the knockout stage. Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat first at the Adelaide Oval.

Riding on Mahmudullah’s stupendous ton — 103 off 138 balls — along with Mushfiqur Rahim’s knock of 89, the Tigers posted a moderate 275 for 7 in the first innings. The score was sufficient to knock England out of the tournament after they were bowled out for 260 in 48.3 overs.

Rubel Hossain bowled a brilliant spell of 4 for 53 while fellow pace bowlers Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed picked up two wickets apiece in order to demolish the English batting order. This is considered to be one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket.

#3 Ireland, 2011 World Cup, March 2, Bengaluru

The two neighboring nations were placed in Group B in the first round of the 2011 World Cup. Sublime fifties from Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81) were ably supported by opener Kevin Pietersen’s 50-ball 59 as England put on a challenging score of 327 for 8 in the first innings.

England would have vouched for a comprehensive win with the formidable pace troika of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and Tim Bresnan was apparently insurmountable for the Irish men. Nevertheless, Kevin O’Brien was up for a cliffhanger after his side was reduced to 111 for 5 at the halfway mark.

The Ireland middle-order batter smashed his century in just 50 balls to record the fastest one by an individual batter at the quadrennial event at that point. He scored 113 off 63 balls and his innings was laced with 13 fours and six sixes before he was run out in the penultimate over.

O’Brien’s dismissal didn’t benefit England in any manner with Ireland getting past the finish line with five balls to spare to record the most successful chase in the history of World Cup back then.