The ICC ODI World Cup happens once in every four years. The International Cricket Council launched this mega event in the year 1975, and it has been the most prestigious 50-over tournament in the world since then. There have been many world champions in the tournament’s rich history.
Winning the WC is one thing, but doing so without losing a single match shows that the team truly deserved to be the champions. It showed that the team played fantastic cricket consistently throughout the mega event and did not allow any of its opponent to dominate the proceedings.
Interestingly, only three teams have managed to win a WC in the ODI format without losing a single match, with one team accomplishing the feat in back-to-back editions. Here’s a list of the three teams.
1. Australia won the World Cup in 2003 and 2007 without losing any matches
The Australian team of the 2000s was labeled as the Invincibles because they rarely lost any match. Be it Test cricket or ODIs, defeating the Australian side led by Ricky Ponting was an extremely challenging task for any team in the world.
The dominance of the Aussies was such that the Australian side won the ODI WC events of 2003 and 2007 without losing a single game in South Africa and West Indies, respectively.
2. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka won its only WC title in 1996. The island nation surprised the fans with its consistent performances in the tournament and ended as the champions in the event hosted by Asian nations. Sri Lanka topped Group A by winning all five matches and then won three knockout games on the trot to win the trophy.
3. West Indies
West Indies became the inaugural champions of the WC in 1975 without losing any matches. The Caribbean side won all three group matches, followed by wins in semifinal and final to win the competition.
