The countdown for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 has begun as we are just a few weeks away from cricket's mega tournament. The 12th edition of Cricket World Cup is scheduled to begin from May 30 and it will take place in England and Wales. Ahead of World Cup 2019, let us go through some of the heartbreaking moments from ICC World Cup which left fans disheartened, sad and also shaken up for days. Know All About 1975 Cricket World Cup: History, Participants and Winner of the Inaugural Edition of World Cup.

Each cricketing nation has a dream to win the World Cup Trophy, after all, it is the most coveted title in cricket. Many times we see teams getting defeated by a very minute margin or due to some unforeseen circumstance like Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method where fortune does not favour the losing side. Cricket just like another game has a winner and a loser, however, when it comes to a tournament like Cricket World Cup, high emotions are involved. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Schedule in PDF: Ticket Prices, Dates, Venue Details & Timetable Available for Download Online.

5 Heart-Breaking Moments from Cricket World Cups

1. When Vinod Kambli Burst Into Tears in 1996 World Cup  

On Mar 13, 1996, India played Sri Lanka in the Semi Final 1 of World Cup 1996. High emotions were involved in this match as India was looking favourite to win the World Cup trophy considering the home support. Unfortunately, the match had a very tragic end which went down as the worst moments in the history of Indian Cricket. Indian team captain for that match Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sachin Tendulkar World Cup Special: Master Blaster Lights-Up Wills World Cup 1996 With His Run Feast, Watch Videos.

Sri Lankan team after losing early wicket posted a decent total of 251/8 thanks to the brilliant knock of 66 from 47 balls by Lankan batsman Arvinda de Silva. Roshan Mahamana played a sheet anchor role by scoring 58(101) before getting retired hurt. In reply, India started off well after losing Navjot Singh Sidhu early in the inning. Master Blaster Tendulkar played a good inning of 65 runs from 88 balls. After Tendulkar's dismissal, Indian batsman displayed some poor batting performance as the score went on to 120/8 from 98/2. Sanath Jayasuriya was the star bowler for Sri Lanka as he rattled up the Indian batting line up and had an amazing figure of 3/12 from 7 overs where he took the important wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. History of Cricket World Cup Trophy: Facts and Evolution of Cricket’s Prestigious Title From Prudential to ICC (View Pics & Video)

The crowd at Eden Garden got anguished by the poor performance from the Indian team as they started throwing bottles on the field and also set the seats on fire.  This happened when the 8th wicket of Indian team fell at the core of 120. The match referee Clive Lloyd tried his best to calm down spectators, however, the situation went out of control which led him to take the decision of awarding the match to Sri Lanka by default.

Watch Highlights of IND vs SL Semi-Final, World Cup 1996

Watch Vinod Kambli cry after the match

2. South Africa vs Australia Semi-Final 2, ICC World Cup 1999

South African team has got the tag of "chokers" for some reason, as they are known to mess up things after doing all the hard work at that too at crucial stages. In this game Proteas side, was very much in the game as their batsman Lance Klusener batted brilliantly throughout. This game till date in history remains the most heartbreaking games. South African captain Hansie Cronje won the toss and elected to field, in which his team did well to restrict Australia for 213 in 49.2 overs.

In reply, South Africa did not get a good start to their inning and it seemed that Proteas was slipping away from the match. However, 84 run partnership for the 5th wicket between Jonty Rhodes and Jacques Kallis brought South Africa back into the game. The pair was broken by the Australian bowler Paul Reiffel in the 41st over. The wicket from there on kept on felling at regular interval and at the same time the required run rate kept on increasing. However, Klusener single-handedly almost sealed the game for his team. Lance Klusener was on the strike when 9 runs were required from last over and with only one wicket left. He smashed the first two balls for a boundary which at that time everybody thought that South Africa made it to the final with only 1 run required from last 4 balls. However, comedy of error occurred on the fourth delivery of the same over where there was a miscommunication between Klusener and Allan Donald which led to the latter run-out. The match was a tie, however, Australia qualified for the final as they finished higher than Proteas in Super-Sixes.

Watch Lance Klusener committing a mistake after doing all the hard work

3. India's early exit from ICC World Cup, 2007

Indians expected a lot from Men in Blue in World Cup, 2007 as they were runner up in the previous World Cup. By far, no one would have imagined that India will exit from the first round of the 2007 World Cup. Team India was part of the group which consisted of minnows like Bangladesh, Bermuda and a top-class team like Sri Lanka. Lankan and Indian side were very much expected to qualify for the next round, however shockingly Bangladesh and Sri Lanka entered the next stage. As the Indian team played three games in the first round in which they only had a massive victory against Bermuda. Indian side lost their first match of Round 1 against Bangladesh by 5 wickets as they were unable to defend the total of 191 runs. India after losing to Bangla side needed to win against Lankan side in their third match of the first round, unfortunately, Indian team faced a defeat in that match as they were unable to chase down the total of 254 posted by Sri Lanka.

4. Pakistan lost to Ireland in World Cup, 2007, Coach Bob Woolmer dies 

ICC World Cup 2007 proved to be very disappointing for arch-rival India and Pakistan as both teams made the exit from World Cup in the first round itself. Just like the Indian team, Pakistan was also the part of the group which had two minnows Zimbabwe and Ireland. Pak side lost to West Indies in their opening game by 54 runs, however, they were expected to win against Ireland in their next match. Surprisingly, Pakistan lost to Irish side by 3 wickets, after the former posted a very low total of 132. Pak batsman showed some poor class in their batting as it seemed like they just threw away their wickets. In reply, Pakistani bowlers couldn't do much to defend the target of 133 runs.

The cricketing world hardly came out from Pakistan team early exit, when they heard the news of Pak coach Bob Woolmer's death. It was sad to see the allegations made after Woolmer's death on Pakistan cricket team. There was news being made at that time that his death is related to Pakistan Cricket team's match-fixing. When an autopsy was conducted on Woolmer’s body it was discovered that he may have died due to manual strangulation. The police, however, concluded that they did find any evidence which proves that Woolmer was murdered.

Watch Pakistan inning succumbed against Ireland in World Cup 2007

5. South Africa vs New Zealand Semi Final World Cup 2015

This was the fourth occasion when Proteas made it to the semi-final and lost the chance to enter the final. South Africa's defeat in this match made the world cried with them.  Proteas side batted first to make 281 runs from 43 overs. This match was hit by rain in between, which led to the application of Duckworth Lewis Stern method (DLS), therefore the game was reduced to 43 overs. However, since it drizzled down in between of South African inning, so the target was calculated as 298 in 43 overs for Kiwis as per DLS method.

From the South Africa side, AB de Villiers played a brilliant knock of 65 from 45 balls to help his team post a competitive total. However, Kiwi batsman Grant Elliott played an inning of his lifetime, where he scored 84 from 73 balls. When Kiwi needed 5 runs from 2 deliveries, Elliott smashed Dale Steyn for a six, thereby sealing the game for New Zealand side. Kiwis won this game by 4 wickets and one ball to spare, which led them to the final of ICC World Cup 2015.

Watch Proteas Cricketers in tears after SA vs NZ Semi Final World Cup, 2015

Meanwhile, teams should forget their bad past for a better future.  All teams are geared up for ICC World Cup, 2019 which will be held from May 30 to July 14. This World Cup will feature top 10 Test playing nations, where all teams will face each other in Round Robin format similar to the one which happened during World Cup 1992.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2019 03:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).