History Says India And Pakistan Most Likely To Win Cricket World Cup 2023; Here's How

India are World No 1 ODI side while Pakistan are number 2. Historically, either of the top two ranked teams since 1999 have gone on to win the World Cup. Will it be India and Pakistan this time?

India and Pakistan cricket teams. (Source: ANI)

India will enter the ODI World Cup 2023 as the World No 1 side. They achieved the ranking thanks the Asia Cup 2023 triumph, some days ago. India have since then beaten Australia in the first two ODIs and are looking to make a clean sweep over them with a win in third ODI in Rajkot. The Men In Blue had dethroned their arch-rivals Pakistan to become World No.1. 

All ten teams of the World Cup will play warm-up fixtures but wins and losses in these matches will not affect the world rankings. That means India and Pakistan will enter the World Cup as World No 1 and 2 sides respectively. 

History says, since 1999, that the teams placed in top two right before the World Cup have gone on to win the Cup. This trend gives India and Pakistan a boost ahead of the big-ticket tournament. 

__ Numero Uno in Test, ODI, and T20I cricket.

Heartiest congratulations to #TeamIndia for achieving this historic milestone. The rankings reflect the hard work put in by this team as they chase excellence on the field. This is fantastic achievement just ahead of the World Cup._ pic.twitter.com/wR4JDlqBJy — Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 22, 2023

In 1999 World Cup, Australia entered the tournament as No 2 and went on to win the tournament. Aussies were World No 1 in 2003 and 2007 when they won the back to back trophies.

India had held the World No 2 ranking when they won the World Cup. Australia too were World No 2 ahead of the 2015 edition. England were No 1 side ahead of the World Cup.

India also have one more advantage as host nation. In the last 3 editions, the countries who have hosted the tournament have gone on to win the trophy as well. It all started with India in 2011 when the MS Dhoni-led side lifted the trophy at Wankhede stadium. In 2015, Australia beat New Zealand to retain the title and then in 2019, England won the tournament for the first time while they were also the hosts.

The Men In Blue have been in tremendous form in the last one month. They have been beaten just once while beating sides like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Australia. Needless to say, India have warmed up well for the tournament. They have also got their combinations right. The final squad of Team India will be announced on September 27. Some of the calls that selectors will have to take will be on Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel. R Ashwin has done well in the series vs Australia and he is most likely to make it to the final 15.