Namibia players celebrate during ICC T20 World Cup 2022
©AFP
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10 Biggest Cricket Betting Wins of All Time
Who doesn't like a good old underdog story, an upset? Unless obviously it's your team who is at the receiving end.
Over the last few decades, cricket has seen some amazing upsets, reiterating the adage that cricket is the greatest leveller.
Teams have entered a competition flying high on the back of a string of victories but have found determined opponents who might not command the same pedigree or ranking as their opponents but show a great stomach for a fight and sometimes end up stunning their highly decorated opponents and winning against all the odds.
If you check out some gambling books in the future, who knows, you could be a winner in one of the 10 biggest cricket betting wins of all time in the future. Here's a look at the 10 biggest cricket upsets of all time.....
Zimbabwe v Australia, 1983
The Zimbabwe of the 1983 Prudential World Cup was much stronger than that of today. They met Australia in their first match and came out victorious, all thanks to the all-round brilliance of Duncan Fletcher, who first scored an unbeaten 69 and then returned to pick up four wickets from 11 overs to take his team to a 13-run victory.
The underdogs later gave eventual champions India a mighty scare before Kapil Dev played his career-defining knock of 183.
Pakistan v Ireland, 2007
The 2007 ODI World Cup did not go to plan for both India and Pakistan. While the former was beaten by Bangladesh, the latter suffered a shocking 3-wicket defeat against Ireland in Jamaica.
Pakistan skittled out for just 132 as Ireland chased down the target with more than eight overs to spare to register one of their most famous victories.
Netherlands v England, 2009
In the opening match of the 2009 T20 World Cup, Netherlands gave England a wake-up call. Batting first, England posted 162 for 5, perhaps falling 20 short of what they should have achieved.
On the back of a brilliant 30-ball 49 from Tom de Grooth, Netherlands overhauled the target on the very last ball of the match to win by 4 wickets and secure bragging rights for eternity.
New Zealand v Bangladesh, 2022
Upsets in the T20 format are still understandable as the reduced game gives the weaker teams a way better shot at victory. However, they turn even more special when captured in the longest form of the game.
When it was least expected, Bangladesh registered an 8-wicket victory against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui on the back of Ebadat Hossain's seven wickets in the match.
Namibia v Sri Lanka, 2022
In the recently concluded 2022 T20 World Cup, Namibia produced a proper upset. The underdogs were reduced to 93 for 6 before a 28-ball 44 ball from Jan Frylinck and a 16-ball 31 from JJ Smit took them to 163.
Riding high on their Asia Cup triumph, Sri Lanka failed to clear the elliptical Kardinia Park against the well disguised slower ones from the Namibian bowlers and were bowled out for just 108.
Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2022
After Pakistan's high-octane MCG clash against India, which they lost by a whisker, they were jolted by a defeat to Zimbabwe.
Chasing Zimbabwe's modest target of 131, Pakistan collapsed to 94 for 6. Despite some lower order resistance, they lost their way once again, losing on the last delivery of the match by just one run.
Netherlands v South Africa, 2022
The 2022 T20 World Cup was a tournament of upsets as it also saw Netherlands getting the better of South Africa at a crucial juncture in the tournament. It was this match which paved Pakistan's way to the semi-finals.
South Africa were red-hot coming into the T20 World Cup but failed to chase down Netherlands' target of 159. They were bowled out for 145 and fell short by 13 runs, courtesy of some brilliant into-the-pitch T20 bowling from Fred Klaassen, Colin Ackerman and Brandon Glover.
India v Bangladesh, 2007
The TRPs of the broadcasters were hit as badly as the emotions of the cricket crazy Indian fans as India were knocked out of the 2007 ODI World Cup in the group stage itself.
Their five-wicket defeat to Bangladesh and 69-run loss to Sri Lanka meant that they crashed out of the tournament early doors despite registering a massive 257-run win over Bermuda.
South Africa v Bangladesh, 2007
Bangladesh were on an upset spree in the ICC 2007 ODI World Cup as after beating India by five wickets in their first match of the competition, they went on to beat South Africa by a big margin of 67 runs on the back of a 87-run hand from Mohammad Ashraful and a 3-fer from Abdur Razzak.
West Indies v Kenya, 1996
Kenya's total 166 proved too much for West Indies in the 1996 Wills World Cup as some brilliant bowling from Rajab Ali and Maurice Odumbe saw the star-studded West Indian batting line-up fall like a pack of cards with Richie Richardson, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul having a forgettable day at office.
© Cricket World 2023
