Great World Cup debuts

A look at the cricketers who made smashing World Cup debuts:


WORLD CUP SCHEDULEGary Gilmour (Australia) (6/14 & 28* vs England; Leeds, 1975)

Gilmour had to wait till the semifinal to get into the playing XI but when he did, he made it count. The left-arm pacer dismissed six of the top seven English batsmen and finished with figures of 12-6-14-6, which remained the best World Cup spell till Winston Davis bettered it in 1983. England were bowled out for 93 and Gilmour top scored with 28 in the chase. He went on to take 5/48 in the final against West Indies but Australia lost.

Andrew Symonds (Australia) 143 off 125 balls vs Pakistan; Johannesburg, 2003

Symonds justified his selection at the very first opportunity, rescuing Australia from a precarious 86/4. His 143 off 125 balls, against a bowling attack comprising Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi, took Australia to 310/8. Australia won by 82 runs as Symonds set the tone for their unbeaten campaign.

Virat Kohli (India) 100* off 83 balls vs Bangladesh; Dhaka, 2011

Kohli had cemented his place in the ODI set-up with four centuries. In his first Cup game, the 22-year-old made another century (100* off 83 balls) and proved to be a perfect foil for a rampaging Virender Sehwag, who scored 175. India finished at 370/4 and won by 87 runs in the first match of their victorious run on home soil.