World Cup, 11 editions: How host countries fared

In the ICC World Cup history, only on three occasions (1996, 2011, 2015) the co-hosts have won the trophy. England has been the host four times and yet to win the world title. Can it get lucky this time?

Let's have a look at how the host nations have fared at the World Cup from 1975 to 2015.

England, 1975

England was the host of the inaugural edition of the World Cup and started the campaign with a bang by beating India by 202 runs after scoring 334, batting first. It advanced to the semis after beating New Zealand and East Africa in its Group A clashes.

In the semifinal, England faced Australia and was bowled out for 93, with Gary Gilmour returning with a six-wicket haul. Australia won the match by four wickets with 188 balls to spare.

England, 1979

With England being the host, it was touted as favourite to lift the trophy. As expected, England advanced to the semifinal after beating Pakistan, Australia and Canada in its Group A matches. In the semis, England put up 221, batting first and New Zealand looked set to overhaul the target before Geoffrey Boycott's spell helped the host to pull off a nine-run win.

England ran into defending champion West Indies, who batting first put up 286/9, with Viv Richards slamming a century. England, in its chase was 183/3 until it got bundled out for 192, with Joel Garner picking a five-wicket haul.

England, 1983

As host, England once again was the favourite and moved into the semis with five wins from six matches, losing the one game to New Zealand.

In the semifinal, it was India it met and could make only 213 in 60 overs after opting to bat. Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil scored fifties as India gunned down the total in 54.4 overs, to progress to the final.

India and Pakistan, 1987

India and Pakistan bagged the hosting rights when the World Cup moved out of England after three editions. Defending champion India was the favourite and so also Pakistan. Kapil Dev-led India lost its first game to Australia but went on to top Group A after straight five wins.

On the other hand, Pakistan also topped Group B. However, in the last-four stage, India lost to England by 35 runs in Mumbai and Pakistan went down to Australia by 18 runs in Lahore.

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Australia and New Zealand, 1992

It was a contrasting run for both the co-hosts at this edition of the World Cup. Australia finished fifth while New Zealand stormed into the semifinal with seven wins from eight.

It was again Pakistan, it faced in the semifinal after losing to them in the group stage. Batting first, the Kiwis scored 262 with Martin Crowe playing a brilliant knock of 91. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his arrival at the international stage with a 37-ball 60, as Pakistan chased down the target with an over to spare.

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, 1996

Sri Lanka sprung a surprise under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga and as co-hosts entered the quarterfinals after topping Group A. Sri Lanka played only two games at home after Australia and West Indies refused to travel because of security concerns.

In one of the quarterfinal, the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan met in Bangalore and Mohammed Azharuddin-led team beat Pakistan to set up a last-four clash against Sri Lanka.

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Sri Lanka after seeing off England in the quarterfinal at Faisalabad didn't had much trouble in the semis with Sanath Jayasuriya and the Eden crowd helping its cause. Chasing 251, India was reduced to 120/8 before crowd trouble forced the match referee to award the game to Sri Lanka. At the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Sri Lanka defeated Australia to win its maiden World Cup trophy.

England, 1999

As host, it was a forgettable World Cup for England. It started off the tournament by beating defending champion Sri Lanka but couldn't advance to the Super Six stage because of poor run-rate compared to India and Zimbabwe.

South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, 2003

Rain, Duckworth-Lewis and South Africa don't go well together. As one of the co-host, the Proteas lost its first game to West Indies by three runs. The second game it conceded to New Zealand via Duckworth-Lewis. In its last group match against Sri Lanka, there was rain again but Duckworth-Lewis spared the Shaun Pollock-led team the blushes of defeat. However, in a bizarre fashion South Africa was ousted when it fell short due to run-rate.

On the other hand, Kenya surprised everyone by advancing to the semifinal, which it eventually lost to India.

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West Indies, 2007

It was Brian Lara's last World Cup, who was also the captain of West Indies. Placed in Group D along with Pakistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe, it won all the matches. However, in the Super 8 stage, West Indies faltered and won two and lost five matches to finish sixth.

India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, 2011

The 2011 editions belonged to the co-hosts — India and Sri Lanka — with both making the finals. India advanced to the summit clash after beating Australia and Pakistan in Ahmedabad and Mohali respectively. While, Sri Lanka played its knock-out matches in Colombo where it defeated England and New Zealand.

In a tense final in Mumbai, riding on the heroics of Gautam Gambhir and M.S. Dhoni, India lifted the trophy for the second time after 1983.

Australia and New Zealand, 2015

After 1992, World Cup was returning to Australia and New Zealand. Both the countries were placed in the same group and at the end of the league stage, New Zealand finished top and Australia second.

New Zealand thumped West Indies by 143 runs in the quarterfinal and Australia defeated Pakistan at Adelaide in a tense finish. In the last-four clashes, Australia saw off India while the Kiwis had a thrilling last-over win over South Africa in Auckland.

The final turned out to be a lop-sided affair after New Zealand was bowled out for 183 and Australia chasing it down with 101 balls remaining for a seven-wicket victory.