Seven days to World Cup: Zimbabwe's unwanted world record

Another forgettable World Cup memory was etched in the hearts of all Zimbabwe supporters in 1992.
The 1992 World Cup began with plenty of promise for Zimbabwe. (Photo | AFP)
The 1992 World Cup began with plenty of promise for Zimbabwe. (Photo | AFP)

Zimbabwe have some forgettable moments in World Cups.

From the infamous losing streak that lasted for almost a decade to a loss to Kenya that helped them reach the World Cup semi-finals, there are several moments that Zimbabwe fans would hope to never be reminded of.

One of them came during the 1992 World Cup. They lost seven games in a row in the group stage before their game against England and their losing streak at the World Cup was 18 successive games.

Although they beat England in a low-scoring thriller to finally end their losing streak and clinch a World Cup win to add to their famous win over Australia in 1983.

Their seven losses in the 1992 World Cup is the most that any team has lost in a single edition of the World Cup.

While they hold the overall record for most losses in World Cup, their forgettable 1992 World Cup followed two miserable outings.

As a result, Zimbabwe hold the record for most losses in the World Cup (1992), second-most losses (six in 1987) and third-most losses (five in 1983).

The 1992 World Cup began with plenty of promise for Zimbabwe as they posted an impressive 312/4 against Sri Lanka on the back of Andy Flower's unbeaten 115. But Arjuna Ranatunga's 61-ball 88 helped Sri Lanka won by three wickets with four balls to spare.

It was all downhill from there for Zimbabwe. They lost their next game against Pakistan by 53 runs before losing by 75 runs to West Indies.

Then rain played spoilsport on a couple of occasions with Zimbabwe chasing as they lost to New Zealand by 48 runs in a rain-curtailed encounter. Then against India, rain made their job of chasing difficult as they lost to India by 55 runs.

Against South Africa, they were bundled out for 163 before the Proteas won with seven wickets to spare. And they beat their own record of most losses in an edition of the World Cup when they were bowled out for 137 in pursuit of 266 against Australia at Hobart.

Although they beat England by nine runs in a low-scoring encounter in their final game of the 1992 World Cup, another forgettable World Cup memory was etched in the hearts of all Zimbabwe supporters.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com