The third edition of the cricket World Cup was also held in England from June 9 to June 25. Again, the contests were of 60-overs duration, played in white clothing with red balls. Like in 1975 and 1979, the tournament was played in the round-robin format followed by the knockouts. In the round robin matches, the teams were divided into two groups, and each side in the group faced the others once. The top two each group progressed to the semi-finals.
England, Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka featured in their third consecutive World Cup while Canada were replaced by Zimbabwe as the eight team. England's David Gower was the top run-scorer in the event with 384 runs, and India's Roger Binny picked up most wickets --18. Following the preliminary round, hosts England, India, West Indies and Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals.
Semi-final 1: India took on England in the first semi-final at Old Trafford. England batted first after winning the toss and batted first. However, India's pacers did extremely well to restrict the hosts to 213 all out. Skipper Kapil Dev picked up three wickets for India while Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny chipped in two each. For England, Graeme Fowler top scored with 33. India replied in a confident manner. Yashpal Sharma with 61 and Sandeep Patil with 51 were the main batting heroes as India won by six wickets to book their place in the final. Amarnath added 46 runs to his two wickets, which earned him the man of the match.
Semi-final 2: West Indies took on Pakistan in other semi-final at The Oval. West Indies won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first. Pakistan responded poorly as they managed only 184 for the loss of eight wickets. Mohsin Khan made 70, but he consumed 176 balls to get there. Malcolm Marshall 3 for 28 and Andy Roberts 2 for 25, kept Pakistan in check throughout. The West Indies had it all easy in the chase, with Viv Richards smashing 80 from 96 balls, and Larry Gomes contributing an unbeaten 50. Windies won by a handsome margin of eight wickets.
The final: West Indies were the favourites to win the final at Lord's. And, this became all but obvious when India were rolled over for 183 after being asked to bat first by West Indies. Krishnamachari Srikkanth top scored for India with 38, Sandeep Patil made 27 and Mohinder Amarnath made a crucial 26, but the rest just succumbed to the pressure exerted by Roberts, Marshall, Garner and Michael Holding, who ripped through the Indian batting. Victory looked like a formality for West Indies, but India's bowlers had other ideas. Amarnath with 3 for 12 and Madal Lal, with 3 for 31, ran through the intimidating West Indian batting line up. West Indies were shot out for 140 as India won by 43 runs, and lifted the crown against all odds. The most significant moment in the match came when Kapil Dev ran around 20 yards to take Vivian Richards' catch, who was going great guns on 33. Richards' dismissal signalled the end of West Indies' dominance in World Cups.
--By A Cricket Analyst
