Cricket World Cup 2023 Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Rather than having pool matches, as had been used in the past, the 2023 format was designed so that all the teams in the competition played each other, with the top four progressing to the semi-finals. The defending champions were England, but their tournament started poorly and they won only three of their matches to be eliminated.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remained competitive throughout, but ended up in fifth and sixth place respectively, both having won four and lost five matches. Netherlands finished bottom of the table with only two wins while Bangladesh finished in ninth place with the same number of wins but a better net run rate.

The top four teams, making it into the semi-finals were India, who won all nine of their matches, with South Africa second, winning seven and losing two matches. Australia were third, also with seven wins but a slightly worse net run rate than South Africa. New Zealand were fourth, with five wins and four losses.

In the semi-finals, India defeated New Zealand by seventy runs while Australia got past South Africa by three wickets. This meant that Australia would be challenging for a record sixth win, having already claimed the title in 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015, while India would be hoping for their third, to add to victories in 1983 and 2011. The final, held at Ahmedabad, saw Australia claim the championship when they defeated India by six wickets to the dismay of the huge crowd of over 120,000.

Of the other teams listed, who didn't reach the finals, West Indies, who won the first two editions in 1975 and 1979, failed to qualify for the first time in the competition's history. Zimbabwe have played three times, in 1983, 1987 and 1992 as have Ireland, in 2007, 2011 and 2015. Canada has appeared four times, in 1971, 2003, 2007 and 2011. Kenya has a good record, appearing five times, in 1996, 19999, 2003, 2007 and 2011, which includes a semi-final appearance in 2003 when they lost to India.