5 greatest India vs. Australia matches at the World Cup

India open their campaign in the 2023 World Cup against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In 12 matches played between the two nations in Men's 50 over World Cup cricket, Australia hold a clear advantage, having won eight and losing only four.

India will have their task cut out in their tournament opener when they face a strong Australian team on Sunday, 8 October 2023.

On the eve of India's game against Australia, here is a look at five most memorable matches between India and Australia in World Cup cricket. This is including T20 World Cups and Women's World Cup cricket:

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#1 1987 Reliance World Cup - Australia win by the narrowest of margins

The encounter between India and Australia in the 1987 World Cup is one of the most exciting games played between the two nations in ODI cricket's biggest event. The said game was played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on 9 October 1987.

Batting first, Australia posted a commendable total of 270 for the loss of six wickets in 50 overs. Geoff Marsh was the lead scorer for Australia and scored a brilliant century (110) and his opening partnership of 110 with David Boon was the highlight of Australia's innings.

The Indian openers Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikanth started cautiously and added 69 runs for the first wicket before the former was dismissed. Navjot Singh Sidhu added 62 runs for the second wicket with Srikanth. When the latter was dismissed, the home team were reduced to 131 for the loss of two wickets.

Sidhu continued his onslaught and added 73 runs before he was bowled by Craig McDermott. India needed just 63 runs with seven wickets in hand. Thereafter, the Indian middle-order fell like nine pins and India were bowled out for 269, one run short of the target.

The said encounter between India and Australia to date is among the most memorable in the history of World Cup cricket.

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#2 1992 Benson & Hedges World Cup - Australia replicate their win from the 1987 World Cup

India again fell short by a margin of one run against Australia in the 1992 World Cup. The said encounter was at the Gabba in Brisbane and Australia once again prevailed in a close contest.

Australia posted an average-looking total of 237 in 50 overs. Dean Jones scored a brilliant 90 and was well supported by David Boon who scored 43. The Indian pacers Manoj Prabhakar and Kapil Dev picked up three wickets apiece and the Australians were reduced to a modest total.

India lost Srikkanth early but Mohammed Azharuddin and Ravi Shastri steadied the ship. India were 45 for the loss of a solitary wicket from 16.2 overs when rain interrupted play. A revised target of 236 was set for team India from 47 overs as per the D/L method.

India were comfortably placed, having lost only four wickets for 194 runs when Azharuddin was dismissed for 93. The lower middle-order collapsed and India were left to chase 13 runs from the last over.

Tom Moody was entrusted the task of bowling the said over and he dismissed Kiran More on the third ball. Manoj Prabhakar and Venkatapathy Raju were both dismissed run-out on the penultimate and the last ball of the game, respectively, and India once again fell short of the target by one run.

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#3 2007 World T20 - India stun pre-tournament favourites in the semi-finals

Team India played a fearless brand of cricket in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. Their biggest challenge was against a strong Australian team in the semi-finals of the said tournament.

Yuvraj Singh was in cracking form in the tournament and scored a brilliant 70 from just 30 balls that included five maximums and five boundaries. Riding on Yuvraj's innings and MS Dhoni's blistering knock (36 from 18 balls), India posted 188 in 20 overs.

A target of 189, though challenging, was not a very daunting one for the Aussies. Matthew Hayden (62) and Andrew Symonds (43) kept Australia in the hunt. Once Symonds was dismissed by Irfan Pathan, team India were back in the game.

Michael Clarke was bowled by Harbhajan Singh and when Joginder Sharma dismissed Michael Hussey, the end was near for Australia.

Australia fell short of the target by 15 runs and India prevailed over Australia in the first match between the two teams in the T20 World Cup.

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#4 2017 Women's World Cup Semi Finals - Harmanpreet Kaur blows away the Aussies

Harmanpreet Kaur literally blew away the Aussie Women with her attacking batting during the semi-final of the 2017 Women's World Cup. India lost two early wickets when Harmanpreet joined skipper Mithali Raj at the crease.

Raj fell soon thereafter. But Kaur smoked the Aussie bowlers to all parts of the ground. She added 137 runs for the fourth wicket with Deepti Sharma.

India ended up scoring 281 for the loss of four wickets in 50 overs with Harmanpreet scoring an unbeaten 171 from just 115 balls, including 20 boundaries and seven maximums.

A strong Australian bowling line-up, comprising Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry, Jess Jonassen, Ashleigh Gardner, Elyse Villani, to name a few was taken to the cleaners.

Deepti Sharma picked up three wickets and Australia Women fell short of the target by 36 runs and entered the finals of the mega tournament.

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#5 2011 World Cup Quarter-Final - India beat Australia by five wickets to enter the semi-finals

Australia had won the previous three editions of the World Cups i.e. 1999, 2003, and 2007 and had stayed unbeaten in the last two.

India faced a tough challenge against Australia in the quarter-final of the 2011 World Cup. The defending champions posted a decent total of 260 with skipper Ricky Ponting scoring a well-composed century.

India chased down the target but the Australian team gave a tough fight. Half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar (53), Gautam Gambhir (50), and Yuvraj Singh (57*), coupled with an unbeaten 34 from Suresh Raina ensured that the defending champions were knocked out. India won the game by five wickets and 14 balls to spare.