Australia upset the form book - 1987

India's triumph in the 1983 World Cup gave the subcontinent's bid to conduct the competition four years later a tremendous fillip, and for the first time, the World Cup - labelled the Reliance Cup after the new sponsors - was held outside England, when both India and Pakistan jointly hosted the event in October-November 1987.

Other than the overs per innings being brought down from 60 to 50 ­ it would have been next to impossible to bowl 120 overs a day on the subcontinent - there was no alteration in the teams involved or the general format. Once again, the eight teams were placed in two groups; Group A comprised India, Australia, Zimbabwe and New Zealand, while group B comprised England, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka.

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For a change, India and Pakistan were the joint favourites for the title, although the chances of England and the West Indies could not be not ruled out. Group B was obviously the more intriguing one, with three heavyweights fighting it out in the preliminary stage, so predictably enough, most of the interest centered round matches in that group. Close finishes proved to be the order of the day, and a couple of minor surprises meant that Pakistan and England made the semifinals from the group at the expense of the West Indies.

The pattern was set on the opening day, when Pakistan beat down a spirited challenge from Sri Lanka, winning by just 15 runs. A day later, England surprised the West Indies by two wickets, the winning runs being scored with three balls to spare. Pakistan defeated England by 18 runs and then got the better of the West Indies in a scorcher, the final margin being one wicket and the winning runs being scampered off the last ball.

By now the competition was becoming known as much for its nailbiting finishes as for its impeccable organisation. In the return round of matches, Pakistan again defeated England to make sure of a berth in the semifinals, and the battle for second spot now lay between England and the West Indies. The two-time champions seemed to be clawing their way back with two successive victories over Sri Lanka, in the first of which Vivian Richards hammered a majestic unbeaten 181 that surpassed Kapil Dev's 175 not out as the highest individual score in a World Cup. But a second successive loss to England knocked them out of contention, and even though they beat Pakistan in their final league match ­ handing the co-hosts their first defeat in six games ­ it was no more than a consolation prize for the West Indies.

Things were less hot in the comparatively passive Group A ­ but only just. Intense competition was lacking for India and Australia, who as expected were always ahead of New Zealand and Zimbabwe. But close finishes were prevalent in this pool too. In fact, the first match between India and Australia at Madras produced the closest possible finish, with the latter winning by one run. New Zealand and Zimbabwe then produced another thriller the next day at Hyderabad before the former edged past their gallant opponents by three runs despite a heroic 141 off 138 balls by Dave Houghton.

A few days later, Australia defeated New Zealand at Indore by three runs in the only rain-affected match of the tournament. Postponed by a day because of heavy rain, it was curtailed to 30 overs a side after captains Allan Border and Jeff Crowe expressed their preference for a game rather than sharing the points for a no-result.

The rest of the matches went according to the form-book, and India, with five straight wins after that narrow loss, took the top spot, while Australia with a similar record were second. Both teams had 20 points, but India's slightly superior rate saw them avoid a semifinal meeting with Pakistan at Lahore. Instead, they took on England at Bombay, while Australia had to make the trip to Pakistan.

At this stage, all seemed set for an India­Pakistan final clash. India seemed to be peaking just at the right time, while Pakistan, in getting the better of West Indies and England in their group, had shown themselves to be potential champions. It was also the clash that everyone was looking forward to, a real dream final.

Such dreams, however, were shattered, for it turned out to be an Australia­England final. Australia set one up for the underdogs when they shocked Pakistan by 18 runs. The next day, England maintained the trend by upsetting India by 35 runs. It was unbelievable, but full credit went to both Australia and England for displaying a professional approach against in-form opponents who may have been a touch complacent.

Both matches followed a similar pattern. Australia scored 267 for eight in 50 overs, and Pakistan seemed well-placed at 150 for three, and with Javed Miandad and Imran Khan going strongly, they required 118 runs off 15 overs. But Craig McDermott then got among the wickets, and Pakistan were dismissed for 249 in 49 overs, with the tall and well-built pace spearhead finishing with five for 44.

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At Bombay, Graham Gooch led the way with a stroke-filled 115 as England scored 254 for six in 50 overs. At 204 for five, and with 10 overs in hand, India had things well under control, for the required rate was only five an over. But irresponsible batting caused a sudden and shattering debacle that saw India bundled out for 219 in 45.3 overs.

The final at Calcutta evoked comparatively lukewarm interest in the subcontinent, although 93,000 spectators were present at the Eden Gardens. Though the final victory margin was only seven runs, the match was not that close, for Australia always seemed to have things under control from the time they led off with 253 for five in 50 overs. David Boon top-scored with 75, enough to get him the Man of the Match award.

England had the benefit of sizeable contributions from most of their top-order batsmen, but tight bowling and brilliant fielding saw to it that they were always behind on the run-rate. Ultimately they fell agonisingly short, finishing at 246 for eight in 50 overs. Australia, then in the midst of a rebuilding process and given little chance of winning the title, ended up deserving champions.