Cricket's Most Remarkable Centuries: ICC World Cup hundreds that ended in defeat
In the history of the World Cup, there are several instances to recount when batters scored scintillating centuries but their teams failed to utilise their performances.
4. Ricky Ponting's 104 against India in 2011
Australia landed as the defending champions in the 2011 World Cup. However, after the league round, their performance wasn’t near to that of the 2003 and 2007 editions. With four victories in six matches, the Men in Yellow qualified for the quarter-finals to confront India in Ahmedabad.
In the marquee game, the Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first. Following a stable start from openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, captain Ponting took the matter into his own hands and notched up a magnificent century to help his team put 260 runs on the board.
Ponting played a commendable knock of 104 off 118 at a time when Aussie middle-order batters Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, and Cameron White went back to the pavilion cheaply. However, the veteran’s innings couldn’t save Australia as Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina played match-finishing innings of 57 (65) and 34 (28) respectively, and won the game for India with 14 balls to spare.
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