Cricket World Cup History: 5 best encounters between India and Australia in the history of the World Cup

After a few one-sided matches, the 2019 World Cup has returned to its competitive best with the Bangladesh v New Zealand and Pakistan v England matches going down to the wire. The tournament has already witnessed an upset of sorts with Bangladesh triumphing against South Africa.

Out of all the teams, two of them have been ruthless and have lived up their favorites tag. India and Australia have showcased discipline in both batting and bowling departments. India has followed the trend from last two years, with the wrist spinners picking wickets in the middle overs while one of the top three batsmen put up an impressive show to win the game for India.

Australia would also be happy with the smooth return of David Warner and Steve Smith while Mitchell's Starc five-wicket haul against Afghanistan will be a major boost to Australia's campaign.

As India and Australia gear up for a mouth-watering clash, here is a look at some of the best encounters between these two nations on the cricket field.

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#5 1987 WC - A match that reminiscent the tied test

Navjot Singh Sidhu knock of 73 kept India in the chase

India began their title defense of the 1987 World Cup against Australia at Chepauk. Batting first, Australia got off to an excellent start with openers putting up a 110-run partnership. Geoff Marsh went on to notch up an impressive 110 as Australia finished with 270/6 from 50 overs.

India's chase began on a surprising note as Sunil Gavaskar, generally slow at the start played with an attacking mindset from the onset. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Krishnamachari Srikanth kept the momentum going with scores of 73 and 70 respectively.

With 69 required off the last 15 overs, India was backed to pocket the match. However, India lost four wickets for just 27 runs and were soon staring down the barrel. Eight was needed for a win with Steve Waugh bowling his slow leg breaks but in the final over, Manoj Prabhakar ran himself out while Maninder Singh was bowled to give Australia a famous win by one run.

#4 2003 WC - A tough pill to swallow for India

Martyn and Ponting put together 234 in 30 overs

Having dominated the entire tournament, Australia was unbeaten and enjoyed the 'favorites' tag going into the final. India also had an impressive run into the final apart from a huge loss against their summit clash counterparts.

Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and chose to bowl in order to capitalize on a damp pitch that was affected by rain before the start of play. However, some erratic bowling meant that Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were scoring boundaries at will. After the two departed, Ponting and Damien Martyn scored runs all over the Wanderers to take Australia to a commanding total of 359 on the board.

India's hopes went down in the first over of the chase as Tendulkar was dismissed by Glenn McGrath. Virender Sehwag kept the game alive for a while but it was too much for the opener to do as he did not get too much support from the other end.

India lost the match by 125 runs, handing over Australia their third World Cup victory.

#3 1992 WC - A flurry of run-outs costs India the game by one run

Jones played a brilliant knock

Pre-tournament favorites and defending Champions Australia had a shocking start to the 1992 WC as they lost their first two games. India was coming off from a washout and another loss would have meant an early exit for both the teams.

Allan Border won the toss and chose to bat first. Dean Jones, who enjoyed a great record against India stood up tall for his team. His knock of 90 ensured that the hosts put up a reasonable score of 237 on the board. India began the chase slowly, putting up just 45 runs from 16 overs before rain interrupted play.

At the end of the rain break, the target was revised to 236 off 47 overs when play resumed. Mohammed Azharuddin essayed a captain's knock of 93 to keep the team in the chase until panic set in.

Azharuddhin was sent back in the 43rd over and was soon followed by Ajay Jadeja next over. Sankay Manjrekar's run-out in the 45th over piled more pressure on India but the asking run was still in control, with India needing 22 runs from five overs and three wickets in hand.

Kiran More and Javagal Srinath took the game till the last over and with 13 required off the final six deliveries, Kiran More smashed two boundaries to regain the momentum.

However, More was castled by Tom Moody on the third ball and two deliveries later, Manoj Prabhakar ran himself out with India needing just four runs from two balls. On the final delivery, Sunil Raju too was run-out as India fell short by a solitary run.

#2 1983 WC - A win that propelled India to the knockouts

Yashpal Sharma top-scored for India

India faced Australia in the last group match of the 1983 World Cup and although India was ahead of their opponents on the points table, a win for Australia would result in them surging ahead as they had a better net run-rate.

Kapil Dev won the toss and chose to bat under overcast conditions. The move did not work as the Australian pacers kept chipping away with important wickets and none of the Indian batsmen could cross 40 as they were bundled out for 247.

With the Australian batting unit high in confidence, they were expected to make short work of the chase. However, the Indian pacers were on top of their mark as the moving ball caused a number of issues for the Australian batsmen.

Madan Lal and Roger Binny, who each picked up four wickets ran through the Australian batting order to skittle them out for 129 that helped India to book a spot in the semi-final against England.

India beat England and went on to beat two-time champions West Indies in the final to lift the World Cup.

#1 2011 WC - When India stopped the Australian juggernaut to become champions

Yuvraj's all-round performance helped India's win

Hosts India took on two-time defending champions Australia in the quarterfinals of the 2011 World Cup. Batting first, Australia's skipper Ricky Ponting played a magnificent knock of 104 as he negated the spin threat and took his side to a challenging 260/6 from 50 overs

India started off the chase well with half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir. However, against the run of play, India lost three quick wickets to leave them reeling at 187-5 needing 74 runs from 12.3 overs.

Yuvraj Singh, like he did all tournament, stood tall in the middle to guide the team to an emphatic victory. Suresh Raina played a quick cameo of 34* from 28 balls to ease the pressure off Yuvraj. In the end, Yuvraj and Raina's 74-run partnership led India to five-wicket win and put a screeching halt to Australia's string of victories in the World Cup.