Unforgettable moments when minnows caused an upset in ODI World Cup history

Every ICC World Cup event is an opportunity for all participating teams to showcase their might. Thanks to the ICC, even teams who are not full-time members, get a chance to play in this mega event. Earlier this was done via the ICC Trophy, which has evolved into the World Cup Qualifier tournament.

Over the years, many such teams have gotten a chance to play on the big stage. From East Africa, Canada in 1975, to Sri Lanka in 1979, Zimbabwe played in the 1983 tournament. Other minnow teams who have featured multiple times in World Cups are UAE, Kenya, Netherlands, Namibia, Ireland, and Afghanistan. Many of these teams have some big wins in their account over some established units. 

Some of them made quite a noise by defeating some big teams in the tournament, giving the World Cup an unforgettable moment. And now we take a look at some of those unforgettable moments when smaller teams defeated heavyweights in the ICC World Cup tournaments.

Here are some unforgettable moments when minnows caused an upset in ODI World Cup history:

1. Kenya defeats West Indies in the 1996 World Cup 

Kenya met West Indies in the Group A fixture of the World Cup 1996 in Pune. Put in to bat first, Kenya slumped to 81 for 6, before crawling their way to 166. Steve Tikolo (29), Hitesh Modi (26), and Thomas Odoyo (24) were the main scorers. Courtney Walsh and Roger Harper took three wickets apiece.

Nonetheless, the total was certainly mediocre and was never going to harm a batting line-up consisting of Brian Lara, Richie Richardson, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. But Rajab Ali rocked the Windies early with the wickets of Richardson and Brian Lara. Lara had hit a crushing boundary and, in an effort, to repeat the shot, was caught somehow by keeper Tariq Iqbal. 

West Indies never recovered from being 35/4. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Roger Harper were the only ones to get into double figures. But they were bowled out for 93 runs, with Rajab Ali and captain Maurice Odumbe taking three wickets each. Kenya won by 73 runs, shocking the two-time World Champs and the cricketing world.