Atripdownmemorylane

Tocelebrate40yearsoftheCricketWorldCup, aheadofits 11theditioninAustraliaandNewZealand, weexplore someofthemostmemorablemoments in thetournament'shistory added52runs in6overs, largelydueto Akran1's belligerent33fromjust 'I8balls, in anerawhere astrike rateof I00was exceedinglyuncommon.

Kallicharran destroys Lillee (The Oval, 1975)

Intbe veryfirstWorldCup,tbe mightyWestIndiesrestricted Australiatojust 191,which they wouldbe requiredto cl1asedown in 60 overs. Thiswasnever going cobeadifficultchase, but it wasmadeeven easierwhen the din1.inutiveWestIndian Alvin Kallicharran,blastedDemus Lilleecoallpartsof TheOval, with Lillee's last tenballs to Kallicharrancostinghim35 runs:4, 4, 4, 4,4, 1,4,6,0and 4. Kallicharran,wbo stood atjust 1.64m,was named Man of the Match forhis 78off 83balls.

O'Brien stuns England (Bangalore, 201 1}

At 5-111,chasingEngland's mammoth 327, youwouldhave betyour house,carand family membersonEnglandwinning theirgroup matcb against cricketing"minnows"Ireland.

EnterKevinO'Brien

The hulking Irishmanblasted 6sixesand 13 foursonhisway cothe fastest-ever\XlorldCup century, his 'I13 off just63 balls providingthef0tmdation for a nervy3-wicketwLn. There'sno doubtthat Ireland'smostfamous victorywasmade just that littlebit sweeter becauseof tl1eopponent againstwhomit came.

Gilchrist blasts the opposition (Barbados, 2007)

A squashballintl1eglovemight soundlikeapointlessexperiment, but itwasthisveryexperinient tl1atled tooneof themost breathtakingWorldCupinnings ever seen. In arain-reduced WorldCupfinal against Sri Lanka, AustralianopenerAdamGilchrist blasted 149off just104balls, carrying theAustraliansto281 at asensational7.39nmsperover.

The SriLankans never recovered fromGilchrist's8 sixesand 13 fours, andAustraliaclaimed their d1ird \Xlorld Cup in arow,albeitin farcically dark conditions.

Akram's all-round masterclass (Melbourne, 1992)

In the1992WorldCupfinal againstEngland,lmranKhanand JavedMiandadhadlaidasolid foundation, buc theinningsstill neededimpetuswhen\".1asim

Akram camecothecreaseat 1974.Akran1and Inzamam-ul-Haq

If thatwasn'tenough, Akramlaterpickedup two wickets in as many ballsat acrucial juncrnre, derailing tbe chaseandfinishingwith figuresof 3-49in amasterful displayof reverse-swing bowling.

Kapil Dev rescues India from the brink (Tunbridge Wells, 1983)

Indianall-rounder KapilDev wasonly24whenhescarredin India'svicrorious1983World Cup campaign India'sjomney appeared tobedoomedwhen Devwalked in withhis side 9-4, and later 17-5 againsttheWorld Cup debucantsZimbabwe. Dev counteredwithamarvellously concroUed,andeventually explosive innings, scoring175out of 266 in an inningswhereno other batsman crossed25. He later bowledatightspellcohelp India restrictZimbabweco235, saving India the red facesand jumpstarting tl1eirultimately successfulrournament.

Superman Jonty (Brisbane, 1992)

If youhadconominatea batsmanmostlikelycobe run-om, youwouldlook nofmthertlrnnPakist.'lll's Inzamam-ul-Haq And inthe1990s, if you wanteda fielder torun said batsman out,you wouldalways pickJaney Rhodes.

In Brisbaneat the 1992WorldCup, Pakistanwerechasing l94in36overs, andwere comfortableat B5/2with Inzamam andImranKhan at the crease. However,a typical lnzymomentof madnesssawJonty Rhodes going airbornewiththe ballandthrowinghisentire body attl1estumps,taking thewickets-and lnzamarn -outof the ground.

Pakistan endeduplosing tl1ematch,bucwinrungthe \XiorldCup.

South Africa self-destructs (Edgbaston, 1999)

Setonly214cowin byAustralia, LanceKlusener'sexplosive31 from14ballshadallbutsealed thegamefortl1eProteas, levelling thescoresat213in thefinalover. However,with two ballsstillleft,

KlusenerandAllanDonaldhada disastrousmix-up,both batsmen ending up at the non-striker'send. TherampantAustraliansin canary yeUowripped up tbestmups,and went through totl1efinalbasedon theirsuperiornetnmrate. Theworst part?Thiscamejust fourdaysafterHerschelleGibbs famouslydroppedAustralian captainSteveWaugh,whowent on tomakean unbeaten 120*.

From top:Alvin Kallicharran (England 1975)

Kevin O'Brien (India, 2011)

Adam Gilchrist (Barbados, 2007)

WasimAkram (Australia, 1992)

KapilDev(England,1983)

JontyRhodes (Australia, 1992)