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Taking a wicket with your first ball in a World Cup match is a sensational achievement for any bowler. Let us look at the three players who have taken a wicket off their first delivery in the World Cup. #1 Ian Harvey (Australia) - against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup During the group stage match between Australia and Pakistan, Ian Harvey took the wicket of a well-set Salim Elahi with his first ball of the World Cup. Batting first, Australia scored 310 runs from 50 overs courtesy a brilliant century from Andrew Symonds. Coming to bat at No. 6, he scored 143 runs from 125 balls including 18 fours and 2 sixes. Chasing 311 for victory, Pakistan lost 3 wickets before registering 50 runs on the board. Just when it seemed like Salim Elahi and Mohammad Yousuf were building a partnership, Ilahi nicked the first ball of Harvey straight into the hands of Brett Lee. Australia went on to win the game by 82 runs and Harvey finished his spell with a magnificent 4/58. #2 Malachi Jones (Bermu

Virender Sehwag is widely regarded as one of the most destructive opening batsmen of all time. He holds multiple records including the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket which was also the fastest triple century in the history of international cricket (reached 300 off only 278 balls) as well as the fastest 250 by any batsman. Let us look at his 3 best Test innings. 309(375) vs Pakistan- 1st test, Multan 2004 Virender Sehwag became the first Indian to score 300 runs in a test match. Sehwag smashed the Pakistani bowlers all around the park. He hit 39 fours and 6 sixes and scored at a strike rate of 82, which was something rare in Tests at those times. 319(304) vs South Africa- 1st Test 2008 Sehwag became the first Indian to score two 300's in test cricket during the 1st test against South Africa. India answered back to a huge total of 540, with the help of Sehwag who scored 319 runs from just 304 balls. He smashed 42 fours and 5 sixes. 293(254) vs Sri Lanka- 3rd

Sourav Ganguly rewrote history during the 1999 World Cup match against Sri Lanka at Taunton. Many records fumbled during his 318-run partnership with Rahul Dravid (145). The Lankan bowlers seemed clueless against the onslaught done by the pair. India won the game by 157 runs and Ganguly was awarded the Man of the Match for his 183 off 158 balls, 17*4, 7*6. It was no less than a masterpiece. Mahendra Singh Dhoni came to the crease in the first over itself, following the early departure of Sachin Tendulkar while chasing a 299 against Sri Lanka in 2005. But he single-handedly changed the course of the game with a majestic 183 off 145 balls. It included 15 fours and 10 sixes. This was the first instance of a wicket-keeper scoring 183 in ODI cricket. India chased down the target comfortably in 46.1 overs. The third one is my favourite among the lot- Virat Kohli against Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup. Batting first, Pakistan scored a good total of 329 with the help of centuries from Nasir

We all remember Irfan Pathan for his marvellous spell of 4–0–16–3. He was adjudged the Man of the Match in the finals. Gautam Gambhir with a great knock of 75 was well appreciated by critics and fans. MS Dhoni who took a gamble with Joginder Sharma was applauded for his extra-ordinary captaincy. Let me shed some light onto another player. At the end of 18th over, when Gautam Gambhir got out, the Indian score was 130/5. With Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir to bowl the next 2 overs, the Indian dugout might have wished for another 18 or 20 runs from the next 12 deliveries. But, Rohit Sharma faced 9 off the next 12 deliveries and scored 24 runs , which helped India post a handy total of 157. The fact that India won the match by 5 runs , shows us how important his innings was. Rohit Sharma - 30 runs off 16 balls, 2 Fours, 1 Six was an unsung hero to me.

Many of the Indian cricketers have got nicknames, either carried from their childhood or given by fans/team-mates. Let us look at those interesting names. Virat Kohli - Cheeku Like Cheeku the rabbit from Champak , he had big ears which earned him the nickname Ajinkya Rahane - Jinx It was Shane Warne who gave him that nickname as he couldn't pronounce Ajinkya during his IPL stint with Rajasthan Royals Shikhar Dhawan - Gabbar During his Ranji days, he would joke around to team-mates with Gabbar dialogues from Sholay Rohit Sharma - Hitman His fans gave the name Hitman for his spectacular six-hitting ability Hardik Pandya - Rockstar The   Mumbai Indians' teammates call him as Rockstar, to his style and attitude Murali Vijay - The Monk Murali Vijay shaved his head some time back. Reports say that it earned him the nickname of The Monk. Ravindra Jadeja - Jaddu/Sir Ravindra Jadeja Jaddu is short for his surname Jadeja Parthiv Patel – Bachcha Maybe becaus

Trent Boult was ruthless against Australia at Eden Park during the 2015 World Cup, and his 27/5 helped New Zealand beat their neighbour in a crucial World Cup encounter. Australia decided to bat first with the hopes of capitalising on some of the smaller boundaries to put up a huge score. Boult had a pretty ordinary first spell, as his five overs leaked 24 runs and Australia were going strong at 68-1 after 10 overs. But once Southee & Vettori took a couple of wickets, Brendon McCullum decided to reintroduce Boult after a seven-over break. And, this time, Boult was rejuvenated and was all set with his lethal inswingers. Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh both chopped on in quick succession, and then, Australian captain Michael Clarke gave a catching practice to Kane Williamson to be his third victim. He completed his 5-fer by removing Mitchell Johnson and Starc, with full deliveries. The delivery to Starc was an absolute gem, as it was a fast swinging yorker on the leg-stump, wh

During India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2004, Sachin Tendulkar made his highest score of 248* from 379 balls. But when the 9th batsman went out, Tendulkar was in his 190s and fans were tensed on whether the No.11 batsman Zaheer Khan will allow him to score the double-ton. But Zaheer played a scintillating innings of 75 from 115 balls. It not only allowed Tendulkar to cross the 200-run mark but also helped him score his highest individual score (248) in International cricket. The partnership added 133 runs from 31 overs, and Zaheer was clearly the aggressor among the duo. Zaheer Khan's 75 remained as the highest score at No. 11 for almost a decade till West Indies' Tino Best bettered it with his 95. Currently, the record belongs to Australia's Aston Agar who hit a 98 against England in 2013.