The history of 1987 ICC cricket world cup

The fourth ODI World Cup brought across many firsts in the history of the tournament.It was the first time that its matches were played outside of  England.The hosting countries were India and Pakistan. Of the total 27 matches, 17 were played in India and 10 in Pakistan. It was sponsored by the Indian major Reliance and came to be known as Reliance World Cup as well. The matches started on October 8 and came to an end with the final on November 8. The format of the World Cup continued to be the same, with the only change being the reduction in the number of overs per team, from 60 to 50.The matches were played with traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day.Eight teams were participed namely Australia, England, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe. The four teams that reached semi-finals were India, Pakistan, England and Australia and the wining two of the semi finals were moving on to the finals. In the final match, Australia beat England by 7 runs. David Boon was declared 'Man of the Match' . The tournament saw Graham Gooch making the most number of runs (471) and Craig McDermott claiming the maximum wickets (18). There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1987.

Group A

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	RR
India	20	6	5	1	5.41
Australia	20	6	5	1	5.19
New Zealand	8	6	2	4	4.89
Zimbabwe	0	6	0	6	3.76

Group B

Team	Pts	Pld	W	L	RR
Pakistan	20	6	5	1	5.01
England	16	6	4	2	5.14
West Indies	12	6	3	3	5.16
Sri Lanka	0	6	0	6	4.04

Semi-Finals

Australia                      Vs                   Pakistan
267/6 (50 overs)                                249 (49.2 overs)

Australia won the toss and chose to bat. The Australian batsmen got off to a very good start,David Boon (65 from 91 balls, 4 fours) top scoring, and making an 82 run second-wicket partnership with DM Jones. Australia were looking to reach 300 with strong batting before Imran Khan took 3 wickets for 17 runs in 5 overs. Australia lost 4/31, but a high number of extras (34) from the Pakistani bowlers, as well as the solid batting from earlier on, brought Australia to 267 (8 wickets, 50 overs). Pakistan started badly, falling to 3/38. Imran Khan (58 from 84 balls, 4 fours) and Javed Miandad (70 from 103 balls, 4 fours) shared a partnership of 112 runs in 26 overs. However,the required run rate at 7.87 runs when Miandad fell, there was just too much for the upcoming batsmen to do, and Pakistan lost 6/99 as they were bowled all out for 249 (all out, 49 overs)

England                        Vs                   India
254/6 (50 overs)                                219 (45.3 overs)

India won the toss and chose to field. After reaching 2/79, Graham Gooch (115 from 136 balls, 11 fours) and captain Mike Gatting (56 from 62 balls, 5 fours) shared a partnership of 117 runs in 19 overs. After Gooch was finally stumped, 51 more runs were added, and England reached 254 (6 wickets, 50 overs). India made a bad start, falling to 3/73.Mohammed Azharuddin, (64 from 74 balls, 7 fours) top scoring. Before Azharuddin was removed lbw by Eddie Hemmings, India were at 5/204, needing 5 runs an over from the last 10 overs, with 5 wickets in hand, and it looked like it would be a very close game. Moreover, the middle and last order for India collapsed, as India lost 5/15. India were bowled all out for 219 (all out, 45.3 overs), giving England both a berth in the final and a measure of revenge for the loss they suffered to India in the semifinal of the World Cup four years earlier in England.

Final

Australia                        Vs                  England
253/5 (50 overs)                                246/8 (50 overs)

Australia won the toss and chose to bat. David Boon (75 from 125 balls, 7 fours) top-scored for Australia, whose batsmen scored fluently. Australia posted 253 (5 wickets, 50 overs). Mike Veletta (45 from 31 balls, 6 fours). In the English reply, opener Tim Robinson was bowled for a first ball duck. Bill Athey (58 from 103 balls, 2 fours) top-scored, and England were almost on target,when captain Mike Gatting (41 from 45 balls, 3 fours, 1 six) handed back the initiative with the loss of his wicket, which ended a growing partnership of 69 runs in 13 overs between him and Athey. Allan Lamb (45 from 55 balls, 4 fours) also posted a great innings, but it was in vain as the required run-rate for England began to rise. When England failed to score the last 17 runs from the final over, the cup went to Australia.