The first World Cup clash was in 1983, India and Australia faced off. Ken MacLeay took 6 wickets. india were all out for 158 and lost by 162 runs. In the next match of the same tournament, India marked a significant victory by 118 runs. Madan Lal and Roger Binny took 4 wickets each to bundle Australia out for 129.

In a nail-biting match in 1987, Australia edged out by just 1 run when Geoff Marsh was the star for the Aussies after hitting a century. Craig McDermott took 4 wickets in that match. Mohammad Azharuddin hit an unbeaten 54 off 45 balls to become the Player of the Match in the next match in the 1987 edition. In a rare display, Azhar took to bowling and claimed 3 wickets as well.

The latter victory was matched by Australia with an identical 1-run win in the 1992 edition. Dean Jones scored 90 off 108 balls and was the Player of the Match. Mohammad Azharuddin (93 off 103 balls) was the highest scorer for India. Tom Moody claimed 3 wickets in that match.

In 1996, Mark Waugh scored a century to take Australia’s score to 258. Sachin Tendulkar (90 off 84 balls) was the highest scorer for India. The Men in Blue fell short of 16 runs.

The late 90s saw Australia’s dominance in the World Cups, where they bested India in 1999 by 77 runs. Ajay Jadeja hit a ton in that match while Mark Waugh was the highest scorer for Australia.

In 2003, Australia secured two thumping victories against India. In the first match, India were all out for 125. Australia won by 9 wickets while Jason Gillespie (3/13) became the Player of the Match. India eventually ended up in the final and lost it by 125 runs.

In 2011, a glorious year in Indian cricket, Ricky Ponting scored a century to take Australia’s score to 260. Yuvraj Singh (57 off 65 balls) remained unbeaten to steer India to victory by 5 wickets.

The Australian winning streak continued in 2015 with a 95-run triumph in the semi-final. Steve Smith scored a hundred while Australia scored 328/7. MS Dhoni (65 off 65 balls) was the highest scorer for India.

In 2019, Shikhar Dhawan scored a century as India added another feather to their cap with a solid 36-run win. This year, India took on Australia in their first match of the tournament. KL Rahul’s unbeaten 97 off 115 balls was enough to secure a 6-wicket victory for India.

On November 19, India and Australia will face off again in a battle to become world champions. For Australia, it will be the sixth title while India will eye for their third trophy.

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Updated: 18 Nov 2023, 07:12 AM IST