World XI vs West Indies: Five best innings from previous World XI matches

The West Indian cricket team will take on the ICC World XI in a fund-raising T20 match at Lords in England on Thursday (May 31). Carlos Brathwaite will be leading West Indies, while Shahid Afridi will walk out to the toss for the World XI.

Chris Gayle, Samuel Badree, and Andre Russell are all a part of the West Indian squad that has been named to take on the World XI on the day. On the other hand, Afridi will lead players like Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Tamim Iqbal, and Mohammad Shami to lead against Brathwaite's men.

There have been many World XI matches in the past, some of which have witnessed some incredible individual performances over the years. In this article, we will focus on the best batting innings from previous World XI matches, looking back at the brilliance of those cricketers.

These knocks are as follows:

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#5 Michael Bevan, 2000

Michael Bevan, one of the biggest cult heroes to have played for the Australian cricket team, played a blinder of an innings against Asia for ICC World XI in Dhaka in April 2000. His batting performance got his team painfully close to chasing the mammoth target of 320 put up by the hosts, to only fall short by one run at the end of it all.

World XI got off to a torrid start in the chase, losing their top three batsmen for cheap scores. But Bevan, coming in at number 4, tormented the Asia bowlers with his terrific batting.

He ended up with an unbeaten score of 185 off just 132 deliveries to his name, smashing 19 boundaries and five sixes in his thunderous innings. The left-handed batsman was a lone warrior for World XI in the second innings, as no other player from the team could cross even 30.

#4 Adam Gilchrist, 2005

His knock helped Australia thump World XI by 55 runs, asserting their supremacy on world cricket at the time. The left-hander smashed eight fours and four sixes on the day, building valuable partnerships with both Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting in the first innings of the game.

He was declared Player of the Match for his incredible performance on the day.

#3 Aaron Finch, 2015

The opening batsman smashed an unbeaten 181 off 145 deliveries to help his team reach the target of 293 with more than four overs to spare. On the course of his innings, he partnered with the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Brian Lara, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

However, it was Finch's batting exploits that spoke the loudest in a batting line-up of that pedigree, making a statement in favor of the right-handed batsman on the day.

#2 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 1998

However, MCC did manage to put up a competitive total of 261 after deciding to bat first on the day, riding on the back of a thumping century from the West Indian great, Chanderpaul. The left-handed batsman batted for 144 deliveries on the day, scoring 125 runs inclusive off five boundaries and one six.

His incredible effort wasn't enough to take MCC over the line, though, as another impeccable knock from the other end proved to be the vital cog in ROW's success on the day. Let us discuss the same in the next slide!

#1 Sachin Tendulkar, 1998

Very rarely does it happen that a list of batting records is being made and this legendary cricketer isn't perched on the top of the same. Tendulkar, who was already a star in international cricket in 1998, enthralled the world once again for ROW against MCC.

He scored a riveting 125 off 114 deliveries, ensuring that his team was in a powerful position to chase down the target. He fell to his Indian teammate Anil Kumble, in the 38th over of the innings.

They say that the Little Master could never score a century at Lord's for India. However, he does have an international century listed against his name, courtesy this match-winning innings he played against the likes of Kumble, Glenn McGrath, and Alan Donald on the day.