1987 - The Cup of Reliance

India had won the World Cup in 1983 and were entering the World Cup as defending champions,  quite a lift for the team which had no pretensions of being a one day team in the previous one.   India had won the World Championship of Cricket under Gavaskar's captaincy and the team had an unbeaten record in that tournament.  Also it had won the Asia Cup in 1984 which made it a strong contender in the one day space especially since the World Cup was being played at home.

India started off on the wrong foot in Chennai by losing the first match ever so closely by a solitary run and the star of this World Cup was born that day. Steve Waugh the Mr Cool in Allan Border's Australian team bowling the last over.  Like Mohinder in 1983, Steve Waugh was a gutsy cricketer who could bowl a bit and bat outstandingly well and had a temperament which was so crucial to success.  Like Amarnath, he also had a red handkerchief sticking out of his back pocket as well.

India's only threat in its group was Australia and India managed to win one and lose one against the Aussies.  The other teams New Zealand and Zimbabwe were no threats on the spin friendly Indian tracks which were prepared probably under special directions from BCCI.  At that time , ICC was not in charge of the venues like it is today and the pitches were host friendly.

I had the opportunity of experiencing the World Cup at the LB stadium in Hyderabad where New Zealand was playing Zimbabwe.  I distinctly remember the ever classy Martin Crowe of New Zealand who was batting so fluently and the cover drives which he played were something that I had never seen before and the 70 odd runs were scored with ease.  Also remarkable was the Zimbabwe fielding and John Traicos bowling his off spinners to a well set field and not letting the batsman get away at all.   Zimbabwe were the underdogs , but Dave Houghton had other ideas and scored a blistering century .  The century was unique because as Kapil Dev in 1983, it was big and he was running out of partners at the other end till Butchart came together to forge a partnership.  I was hoping for a Zimbabwe win but Martin Crowe took a catch similar to Kapil running backwards always keeping his eyes on the ball and put paid to Zimbabwe hopes. It made me realise the importance of watching the ball till the last instant while fielding and since the catch was taken very close to where I was parked, it made me feel elated.  I ran back home to watch the highlights of this match and also some replays of the dismissals and wanted to spot myself on TV as well.

The other group was in fact more keenly contested with Pakistan moving forward with England .  West Indies on the other hand had lost quite a bit of steam and were no longer the side they were in 1983.  What will remain of the West Indies from the WC 87 would be the Walsh spirit ( where he refused to run out Salim Jaffer who was backing up too far ), I still remember the incident so vividly even today.

The semi final line up was strong and two home teams playing against England and Australia respectively.  The results were also a foregone conclusion  India vs Pakistan final and India winning the world cup again.  A million people were hoping for this result and the TV broadcasters as well.  

Things were already not going to plan in the 1st semi final where Pakistan had already disappointed against Australia and Pakistanis were obviously supporting England for the 2nd semi final.   The England batting at the Wankhede and I was watching on TV @ home.   The early moments were going to plan until Gooch started playing the sweep shots against the indian spinners.  It seemed that India were running out of ideas bowling to him and he would place the ball at will. Maninder and Ravi Shastri were clueless and were letting things drift and Kapil's captaincy was suddenly looking ordinary.  India began the chase as if in a daze with regular wickets falling.  The England bowling was not great but the total was good and after Gavaskar and Srikanth went , it was upto Azhar.  Chandrakant Pandit was playing as a batsman since Vengsarkar was injured and when Kapil hit Emburey high in the air , the die was cast for an Indian defeat.   Eddie Hemmings was made to look like Muralitharan by the Indians who were throwing their wickets away.  Why Kapil played the shot etc will be reflected upon many a time by Kapil himself but probably what went wrong was the bowling and the failure to contain Gooch & company to a manageable total.

Two unlikely finalists England and Australia and many a Calcuttan would have purchased tickets for the final hoping for an India Pakistan one.  Every one in the ground was supporting Australia because England had knocked out India and Australia had ensured that Pakistan didnt make it as well.   The final will be remembered for the Australian meticulous way of playing the game and the way they go about every aspect it.  At no moment, they were out of the game and the pressure exerted when England was chasing was unbelievable.  To the credit of England , they were in the chase when Bill Athey and Mike Gatting were at the crease till Gatting played a shot similar to what Kapil Dev played.  Allan Border was waiting for mistakes to happen and Gatting obliged with a reverse sweep which he skied.   Wonder what Border told Gatting after that ala. Steve Waugh & Gibbs. When Border lifted the Reliance cup in the fog filled Eden Gardens and the fireworks erupted in the sky, one couldnt help feeling that cricket was the winner ( how many times  has  this been said :) , the best team eventually won the cup and the Australian team  had been rebuilt  by Allan Border. 

However the moments which still remain for me are Walsh folding his hands when he had the opportunity to run out Jaffer ,  the cool Steven Waugh final over against India in the first match , the catch taken by Martin Crowe of Dave Houghton ,  Gavaskar's attacking shots against Ewen Chatfield outsmarting Srikkanth at the other end ,  the Graham Gooch sweep shot ,  the Kapil Dev hoick which landed in deep mid wicket's hands and most important of all , the brain freeze of Mike Gatting when he played the reverse sweep. All in all the record turnouts made the sub continent the favoured venue for many more of the cricket tournaments.