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50% done, 100% won! Where were India after five games in every CWC?

By Mumbai Indians

We’re halfway through the 2023 edition of the World Cup, and India are not just unbeaten, they’ve been utterly dominant. With a week’s gap now before the Men in Blue’s next game against England, let’s open the archive books to trace where India stood after playing the first games in every single Cricket World Cup from 1975 to 2023.

Note: The group stage format in the 1975 and 1979 ODI World Cups had only three matches. World Cups 1992, 2019 and 2023 were held in a round-robin format.

India’s record after the first five games in ODI World Cups

Year

Wins

Losses

Tie / No results

Position on points table

Final Finish

1975

1 [East Africa]

2 [Eng, NZ]

0

3rd in Group A

Group Stage

1979

0

3 [WI, NZ, SL]

0

4th in Group B

Group Stage

1983

3 [WI, Zim (twice)]

2 [Aus, WI]

0

2nd in Group B

CHAMPIONS

1987

4 [NZ, Aus, Zim (twice)]

1 [Australia]

0

1st in Group A

Semi-finals

1992

2 [Pak, Zim]

2 [Eng, Aus]

1 NR [SL]

3rd

7th

1996

3 [Kenya, WI, Zim]

2 [Aus, SL]

0

3rd in Group A

Semi-finals

1999

3 [Kenya, SL, Eng]

2 [SA, Zim]

0

2nd in Group A

Super 6s

2003

4 [Netherlands, Zim, Namibia, Eng]

1 [Aus]

0

2nd in Group A

Runners Up

2007

1 [Bermuda]

2 [Ban, SL]

0

3rd in Group B

Group Stage

2011

3 [Ban, Ireland, Netherlands]

1 [SA]

1 Tie [Eng]

1st in Group B

CHAMPIONS

2015

5 [Pak, SA, UAE, WI, Ireland]

0

0

1st in Group B

Semi-finals

2019

4 [SA, Aus, Pak, Afg]

0

1 NR [NZ]

3rd

Semi-finals

2023

5 [Aus, Afg, Pak, Ban, NZ]

0

0

1st