MUMBAI (Agencies) - If World Cup soccer is synonymous with Brazil, the cricketing extravaganza has always epitomised Australian domination. Both these countries possess a proud record in the tournament considered the showpiece of their respective sports and are also widely tipped as the teams to beat even when they don't appear to be in the best of form in the run-up to the mega event. An unprecedented three Cup titles on the trot (and four altogether) and a fourth successive one beckoning in the tournament commencing at Dhaka on February 19, make Australia stand tall though their aura of invincibility has taken a beating in recent times. When Ricky Ponting and his men take the field against Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium on February 21 to start their bid for a fourth straight crown, they would go into the Cup history with a phenomenal unbeaten run stretching back to nearly a dozen years. The four-time champions and six-time finalists were previously beaten in a Cup encounter by Pakistan at Headingley, Leeds on May 23, 1999 before they went on to win their second crown on June 20, by avenging that defeat in the summit clash. After the loss to Pakistan, Australia had won 28 matches and tied one against South Africa (in the 1999 semi-final) and the stupendous run has given them three successive crowns, two of them under the captaincy of Ponting who is now striving for a hat-trick. Ponting, playing in his fifth successive Cup as the most capped player in the tournament (a 39-match record he shares with his erstwhile team-mate Glenn McGrath), is coming off a long finger injury-forced lay-off and missed the ODI series against England. But the Tasmanian, who was pilloried in the media after Australia surrendered the Ashes to England, is certain to make one last-ditch effort to cling on to the Cup that he has won thrice as a player and twice as captain. The Australian team for the 2011 tournament looks a far cry from the seemingly invincible ones that he was part of in 1999, under Steve Waugh, and in the next two editions when he led the side. Australia have a very proud record to defend, not only in the number of title triumphs but also in the number of matches won (51 out of 69 since 1975). The 6-1 rout of England in the ODI series back home should act as the ideal shot-in-the-arm for the squad which is seeded number one in the 14-side event and are placed in Group A. The players also have a good idea of what to expect in the sub-continent conditions following regular visits to India in the period after the 2007 Cup and their stints in the Indian Premier League. Shane Watson is one player who revels in Indian conditions and, in fact, his floundering international career got a mega boost after his show in IPL 1 in 2008.