Top 10 Lowest Team Totals in Cricket World Cup History
The exciting ICC World Cup event happens every four years and gives teams a chance to show off their best cricket. Today we will have a look on some of the lowest team totals in the history of ODI Cricket World Cup.
Lowest Team Totals in Cricket World Cup of All Time
Some weak teams also get to play against some of the best teams in the world. Not surprisingly, though, when the inexperienced batting groups play against strong bowling attacks, they sometimes score embarrassingly low scores.
1. Canada – 36 Runs
Canada holds an unwanted record for the lowest team total in the history of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Sri Lankan aggressive bowling attack restrict them out for just 36 runs in Paarl during the 2003 tournament. In this innings, none of the Canadian hitters scored more than 10 runs. It is the third-lowest score in the history of men’s ODIs.
In the first 10 overs, Chaminda Vaas and Prabath Nissanka bowled with new balls and got Canada to 12/6. Later, Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando joined the party to get rid of the tail.
The North American team got as low as 36 runs before they were knocked out. The goal was reached in 4.4 overs, and Prabath Nissanka was named Player of the Match for his 4/12.
2. Canada – 45 Run
England made it all the way to the final of the second ICC World Cup in 1979. In the group rounds, they beat Canada in a way that set a record. Canada could only score 45 runs before they were bowled out. Bob Willis and Chris Old ripped through their batting order, taking four wickets between them.
After taking their time, the English hitters scored eighteen runs in 13.2 overs, which was enough to win that game. It was the lowest score in an ODI for 14 years, until West Indies bowled out Pakistan for 43 runs in a two-team match in 1993.
3. Namibia – 45 Runs
Australia had a great game against Namibia on their way to winning their third ICC World Cup in 2003. Australia got 301/6 when they batted first. Matthew Hayden, Darren Lehman, and Andrew Symonds all hit fifty runs. Namibia was caught off guard by Glenn McGrath’s threatening spell.
In the 11th over, McGrath got his fifth wicket, which was Louis Burger. He ended with career-best figures of 7/15, but Namibia could only score 45 runs. As of that day, Australia’s 256-run win was the biggest in ODI history. It was the third-worst score by a team in the history of the World Cup.
4. Sri Lanka – 55 Runs
Sri Lanka is the newest team added in the list of teams with lowest totals in the history of ODI Cricket World Cup. Sri Lankan team were bowled out for 55 runs by Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj, who had great spells.
India scored a huge 357/8 in their first innings, with Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer all hitting fifty runs. In reaction, the Islanders were bowled out for 55 runs, and India won by a huge 302 runs.
With 21/8 in the second innings, Sri Lanka was almost able to break Canada’s 20-year record, but a late comeback from their tails put them over the 50-mark. But their score is still the lowest by a Test-playing country in the history of the ICC World Cup.
5. Bangladesh – 55 Runs
Bangladesh’s score against West Indies in 2011 was the lowest by a hosted country in the history of the ICC World Cup. In this match in Mirpur, Darren Sammy’s Caribbean team was the first to bowl. After 18.5 overs, the Tigers were bowled out for 55 runs, which made the home fans very sad.
Three wickets were taken by Kemar Roach, three by captain Sammy, and four by Sulieman Benn. Roach, on the other hand, was named Player of the Match for his 3/19 spell, in which he got Tamil Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful, and Junaid Siddique.
Also Read: Highest Team Total in Cricket World Cup History
6. Scotland – 68 Runs
In 1999, West Indies didn’t have a great time because they didn’t make it to the semi-finals. But they did have one big win, against Scotland in Leicester. The bowling unit did a great job. The first team to bat was Scotland, who were out after 31.3 overs for 68 runs.
With three wickets in seven overs, Courtney Walsh was the star for the Caribbean team. Curtley Ambrose, Hendy Bryan, and Reon King all got two wickets each. In 10.1 overs, they beat the score by eight wickets.
7. Kenya – 69 Runs
Some games didn’t score much in 2011, and Kenya had a terrible game against the potential semi-finalists. One of those was New Zealand. Kenya came up to bat first and got off to a good start, reaching 40/1 in 11 overs.
In just three overs, Hamish Bennett took four wickets, which was the start of their downfall and put them on the record for the lowest team score in World Cup history.
With three wickets each, Tim Southee and Jacob Oram made sure that Kenya lost their last nine wickets for just 29 runs. They scored 69 runs before being bowled out. New Zealand’s openers quickly scored all the runs they needed and won the game by 10 wickets.
8. Pakistan – 74 Runs
In the history of the World Cup, this is the only time a team was bowled out for less than 100 runs and still won. Pakistan’s batting effort against England in the 1992 World Cup showed how badly they were off to a bad start.
They were bowled out for just 74 runs at the Adelaide Oval. Derek Pringle’s 3/8 was the best throw from an English bowler. Because of weather in the second innings, the game was called off without a winner, which was one of Pakistan’s best luck strikes.
9. Ireland – 77 Runs
Sri Lanka made it to the 2006 World Cup finals and won the silver prize. They had some big wins along the way. One such game was against Ireland, where they bowled out the Irish team for just 77 runs in 27.4 overs.
Eoin Morgan was bowled out by Farveez Maharoof, who was named Player of the Match for his 4/28. Morgan went on to win the World Cup as captain of England in 2019. It was also Muralitharan who took four wickets in this game, which Sri Lanka won by eight runs.
10. Bangladesh – 78 Runs
Bangladesh’s first chance to hold a tournament ended with two scores below 100 in the group stages. The second one was against South Africa. In the second game, they scored only 78 runs and lost by 206 runs.
Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, and Faf du Plessis all hit fifty runs to help the Proteas score 284/8 in the first innings. Because of this, Lonwabo Tsotsobe (3/14) and Robin Peterson (4/12) smashed the Bangladeshi batting order and got a huge win.