ENG vs NZ, 1979: The first close World Cup semifinal came in 1979 when New Zealand fell nine runs short of England’s 221/8
Graham Gooch’s 84-ball 71 outshone Kiwi opener John Wright’s patient 69. Ian Botham defended 14 runs off the last over to take England to its first WC final
IND vs ENG, 1983: Indian bowlers, led by skipper Kapil Dev, bowled England out for 213. India’s chase was anchored by Yashpal Sharma, who put up a 92-run stand with Mohinder Amarnath
Sandip Patil closed off the chase with a rapid fifty, securing India its first final entry. India went on to win the 1983 World Cup
IND vs ENG, 1987: India’s hopes for a second consecutive final appearance were dashed by a remarkable hundred by Graham Gooch, who used the sweep shot to great effect
He put on a 117-run stand with Mike Gatting to take the game away from India. M. Azharuddin fought back with a fluent fifty, but India fell short by 35 runs
PAK vs NZ, 1992: New Zealand thought it had the match in the bag after it reduced Pakistan to 140/4 inside 35 overs, chasing 263
But Inzamam-ul-Haq (37-ball 60) and Javed Miandad (69-ball 57) brought Pakistan back into the game. Moin Khan applied the finishing touches to send Martin Crowe’s men crashing out
AUS vs WI, 1996: West Indies was cruising to a win against Australia at one stage. Australia managed to put 207 on board only due to a supreme effort from its lower middle-order
There were fifties from Bevan and Law, and a 31 from Healy. West Indies was 165/2 in the 42nd over before it got bowled out for 202, thanks to Shane Warne’s 4/36
IND vs SL, 1996: India’s dreams of a second World Cup final were crushed under dramatic circumstances. Sri Lanka scored a competitive 251 in the first innings, mostly thanks to a 47-ball 66 by Aravinda de Silva
India’s response was a calamitous one, except for Sachin’s fifty. An angry Eden Gardens crowd brought the game to an halt with India at 120/8. The match was then awarded to Sri Lanka by forfeit
AUS vs SA, 1999: Australia and South Africa played one of the greatest ODI games of all time. Bevan rescued the Aussies again as they posted 213. Warne ensured the Proteas never ran away with the chase before Lance Klusener’s arrival flipped the narrative
The all-rounder thought he had won the game for his side after he hit fours off the first two balls of the last over to level the scores. But he and Donald had a horrible mix-up two balls later, and the match ended in a tie. Australia qualified for the final based on its superiorSuper Six numbers
IND vs PAK, 2011: Pakistan’s hopes of disrupting India’s charge for a second World Cup title were quickly put to rest by an efficient performance by the home side
Powered by a fortuitous 85 by Sachin Tendulkar, India posted 260. Pakistan’s chase never really took off as the Indian bowlers pulled off a brilliant team effort to send their side into the final
NZ vs SA, 2015: South Africa’s semifinal curse continued, with New Zealand delivering the killer blow this time
With five runs needed off two balls, Grant Elliot smashed Dale Steyn for a six to send New Zealand into its first World Cup final
IND VS NZ, 2019: After a strong league-stage performance, India fumbled against New Zealand in a rain-marred semifinal. New Zealand’s innings was built around Ross Tylor (74) and Kane Williamson (67)
India’s chase was rocked early on, with the side reduced to 5/3. Pant, Pandya and Jadeja’s handy knocks rekindled hopes before MS Dhoni’s run out extinguished them