Biggest World Cup Win Ever Recorded

Last Modified Jun 06, 2019 17:57 IST

The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England is set to have batting pitches and the England and Wales Cricket Board has even predicted a 500-run total. If a batting side collapses in the second innings of a match in such conditions, there might be a chance for the opposition to notch up a record victory by runs in a World Cup tournament. There is a definite possibility of getting a new Biggest World Cup win this edition.


Here are the Top 10 instances when a team lost by too many runs:

Biggest World Cup Win - By Runs


PositionMatch DateWinnerMarginOppositionTarget
14 Mar 2015Australia275 runsv Afghanistan418
219 Mar 2007India257 runsv Bermuda414
327 Feb 2015South Africa257 runsv West Indies409
427 Feb 2003Australia256 runsv Namibia302
515 Mar 2007Sri Lanka243 runsv Bermuda322
63 Mar 2011South Africa231 runsv Netherlands352
718 Mar 2007Australia229 runsv Netherlands359
816 Mar 2007South Africa221 runsv Netherlands354
920 Apr 2007Australia215 runsv New Zealand349
1028 Feb 2011West Indies215 runsv Netherlands331

The biggest world cup win by runs came in Cricket World Cup 2015 when the rampant Australian team, the Winners of World Cup that year, scored a mammoth 417 on the board after losing the toss to Afghanistan. The Afghanistan batting order could manage only 142 and lost the match by a whopping margin of 275 runs.


In the list of Top 10 biggest victories in World Cups in terms of runs, Australia appears the most times (4) on the winning side and the minnows the Netherlands appear most times (4) on the losing side. Five of these instances have occurred in the 2007 World Cup which was held in the West Indies. New Zealand and West Indies are the only two teams in this list that are not minnows or not playing their first ever World Cup tournament.


Biggest World Cup Win - By Wickets


The ICC ODI World Cups have been the most exciting cricket tournaments since the inaugural World Cup edition in 1975.


However, there have been a few matches which have been fairly one-sided either because of the difference of the status of the teams or because of their strengths and/or weaknesses. A team which is batting heavy may fail to use the bowling conditions well and a bowling heavy team can dismantle the batting of the opposition. There have been a few such matches where the bowlers of one team made merry and their openers chased down the target without any fuss.


Here are the first 10 instances:


PositionMatch DateWinnerMarginOppositionBalls RemTargetOvers
16/1/2019New Zealand10 wicketsv Sri Lanka20313716.1
26/11/1975India10 wicketsv East Africa18112129.5
36/20/1983West Indies10 wicketsv Zimbabwe8917245.1
42/23/1992West Indies10 wicketsv Pakistan1922146.5
52/12/2003South Africa10 wicketsv Kenya17214121.2
62/14/2003Sri Lanka10 wicketsv Bangladesh17312521.1
72/22/2003South Africa10 wicketsv Bangladesh22810912
82/20/2011New Zealand10 wicketsv Kenya252708
93/4/2011New Zealand10 wicketsv Zimbabwe9916333.3
103/23/2011Pakistan10 wicketsv West Indies17511320.5


Australia v Afghanistan - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup


More than 10 matches have resulted in 10-wicket wins. India has the distinction of the first ever 10-wicket win in a World Cup match. They defeated East Africa in the first-ever World Cup tournament held in England in 1975.


The South African team won by 10 wickets twice in 2003 in South Africa and New Zealand did it twice in 2011 in India/Sri Lanka/Bangladesh. Bangladesh has the dubious record of becoming the first team to lose a match by 10 wickets three times. They lost twice in 2003 and then the third time in 2007.


Also Read : World Cup Winners Captains List