Given that cricket is the most followed sport in the country, questions of how many times has India won the ICC World Cup are extremely common and prevalent. The Indian cricket team is one of the most successful in the history of the sport. There are hardly any trophies that haven’t been won by Team India.
However, when it comes to the sport’s biggest prize, it is unquestionably the ICC World Cup tournaments. They carry the highest prestige and honour and winning the Cricket World Cups is a lifelong dream for any player in the world.
England won the World Cup for the very first time in its history in 2019. In a dramatic final match in Lord’s, New Zealand were dealt a poor hand by fate and could only finish as runners-up in a match they should’ve won had the circumstances been any kind.
But how many times has India won the ICC World Cup? Let’s discuss below:
How many times has India won the ICC World Cup?
| World Cup edition | Format | Opponent in the final | Match result |
| 1983 | ODI | West Indies | India won by 43 runs |
| 2007 | T20 | Pakistan | India won by five runs |
| 2011 | ODI | Sri Lanka | India won by six wickets (with 10 balls remaining) |
India have won three ICC World Cups so far. They are two-time Cricket World Cup winners, doing so in 1983 and 2011. India also won the inaugural edition of the 2007 World T20.
1983 Cricket World Cup | England and Wales
The revolution of the growth of cricket in India began with this particular tournament. Prior to the 1983 Prudential World Cup, India played six matches across two different World Cups in 1975 and 1979 and it only resulted in an India crash in the very first round.
As a result, Team India had been considered a major underdog and had not been given any chances of a win in 1983 either. However, Kapil’s Devils as they are now affectionately known, made the impossible a reality.
With four wins from six matches and 16 points, the Indian cricket team finished second in Group B only behind West Indies. They famously defeated Zimbabwe by 31 runs at Tunbridge Wells with Kapil Dev scoring a magnificent 175* (138) in a match that wasn’t televised.
India also turned the tide and got the better of hosts England in the semi-finals. Mohinder Amarnath’s all-round brilliance saw him being rewarded with the man of the match award as the team qualified for the World Cup final for the very first time in their history.
However, it wasn’t going to be easy as in front of them were formidable opponents in West Indies. Back then, West Indies wasn’t just the most successful country, they were the only country to have lifted the World Cup, winning consecutive World Cup tournaments in 1975 and 1979.
In a cricket match that would go on to shape and change India’s destiny in the sport forever, Kapil Dev and co got the better of West Indies by 43 runs in the final in Lord’s. K Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath put up significant resistance with the bat while facing the likes of Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, and Michael Holding.
However, the Indian bowlers utilized conditions perfectly to bowl out West Indies with Amarnath and Madan Lal taking three wickets each. Indian cricket would never be the same again.
2007 ICC World Twenty20 | South Africa
This was a time when the popularity and fanfare of T20 cricket were slowly catching on. Shorter times, more fast-paced and entertaining cricket and better responses from audiences resulted in the birth of this format. It was truly legitimized when the ICC decided to hold the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.
India were entering the tournament on the back of prevalent chaos and controversy. A poor show at the Cricket World Cup in West Indies had turned the fans against the national side. Senior players refused to travel with the team for this World Cup and a young Indian side was appointed under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The rest, as they say, is history.
India won both its matches, which included a bowl-out against Pakistan, to top Group D. They then finished on top of the Super 8 stage with two wins from three matches, which included Yuvraj Singh smashing six sixes in an over of T20 cricket for the very first time, to make their way to the semi-finals.
Team India defeated Australia in the last four by 15 runs to set up a final showdown with their arch-rivals Pakistan. Gautam Gambhir was the star of the show with the bat in hand but the Men in Blue could only muster a total of 157/5. Misbah-ul-Haq threatened to take the game away with his whirlwind knock before Dhoni trusted his instinct and controversially, handed the ball to Joginder Sharma in the final over.
Despite conceding a six and a wide that had every Indian worried incessantly, Joginder Sharma dismissed Misbah-ul-Haq’s final wicket as he tried to attempt a paddle scoop behind the wicket-keeper but could only find the hands of Sreesanth. Thus, India, became the very first World T20 champions and the success of that format has only grown since the inception of the Indian Premier League on the back of India’s historic win.
2011 Cricket World Cup | India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh
The 2011 Cricket World Cup victory is perhaps, India’s most iconic to date. The fact that it happened on home soil with billions of people hoping and dreaming truly made it larger-than-life. With this World Cup win, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s career also came full circle as he finally won the trophy he wanted the most in the stadium he grew up in as a kid after a mesmerizing and illustrious career that had virtually seen it all.
With four wins from six matches, India finished second in the group stage behind South Africa. However, they turned up the ante in the knockout stages and got into fifth gear. A morale-boosting against the most successful team in World Cup history, Australia, ensued in the quarter-finals.
India then faced their neighbours Pakistan in the semi-finals. The diplomatic relationship between the two countries had become non-existent by that point following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and that tension also played a part in this match. India ended up defeating them by 29 runs in Mohali to book their tickets for the final.
In the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India were under pressure as Mahela Jayawardene scored a sublime century to take his team to a comfortable total. Things went from bad to worse when Lasith Malinga dismissed Virender Sehwag for a duck and then got rid of Sachin Tendulkar, thus, throwing the Wankhede Stadium and all of India into stunned silence.
However, as he had done four years before, Gautam Gambhir refused to throw in the towel. His fighting knock of 97 brought India back into the game before captain MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order to try and secured the run-chase. Dhoni’s innings now is famous in cricket folklore as he partnered with Yuvraj Singh to pull off the heist. India triumphed over Sri Lanka in the most magnificent way, with MS Dhoni’s helicopter shot launching Nuwan Kulasekara’s delivery into the crowd and sending the entire country into a frenzy.
India and Australia are the only two countries to have won the World Cup in both the 50 and 60 over formats
How many times has India won the ICC World Cup: The near-misses
India have also reached the final match of the World Cup on two occasions and have fallen one step short against their rivals.
The first time it happened was in the 2003 Cricket World Cup co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Having won the toss, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly controversially decided to field, hoping to take advantage of a pitch left damp by dew and rain. However, on a lively Wanderers Stadium pitch, Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist got off to a flying start. Australian captain Ricky Ponting then made things near impossible for India with a fantastic knock of 140 in the final as they posted a humongous score of 359/2.
India’s run-chase became even more complicated after Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the very first over by Glenn McGrath. Virender Sehwag, with a knock of 82, brought some respectability to India’s attempt but they ended up getting bowled out for 234, thus giving Australia an emphatic margin of victory by 125 runs, the highest in World Cup finals so far.
The Men in Blue also fell short in the 2014 ICC World T20 Final against Sri Lanka in Dhaka. Having opted to field first, Sri Lanka put the Indian batting unit into a difficult situation. Virat Kohli led the way with a fine knock of 77 runs, but the rest of the side proved to be underwhelming. They were sluggish in their approach and could only score 130 runs in 20 overs.
Captain Kumar Sangakkara led the run-chase for Sri Lanka with a wonderful unbeaten half-century. Sri Lanka became the fifth team to lift the World T20 title after chasing down India’s score by six wickets and with 13 deliveries to spare. It was the last T20I match in the careers of Lankan legends Sangakkara and Jayawardene and they got a suitable parting gift.
FAQs
How many times has India won the T20 World Cup?
India has won the T20 World Cup once in 2007. India beat Pakistan in the final match by five runs to lift the very first World T20 trophy.
India won the World Cup in which years?
India has won the World Cup in 1983, 2007, and 2011.
Who won the first cricket World Cup?
West Indies were the first champions of the world. They defeated Australia by 17 runs in the final of the 1975 Cricket World Cup.
How many times has Pakistan won the World Cup?
Pakistan are two times World Champions. They won the Cricket World Cup in 1992 under the leadership of Imran Khan. They also lifted the World T20 trophy in 2009.
