Australia defeated India by one run in the 1987 World Cup match in Chennai and it was yet another thriller at Chepauk after the tied Test at the same venue a year before.
Follow Us
In the 80s, there was a trend in contests between India and Australia. India was the world champion in cricket at that time. Australia, on the other hand, was a team in a rebuilding phase in their history. Both sides would play absolute thrillers. The common factor in those thrillers would be one venue. In 1986, India and Australia played out a Test match in Chennai which would live on for ages. The match in Chepauk saw the second tied Test in history, with the heroic efforts of Dean Jones, Greg Matthews, Sunil Gavaskar, and Ravi Shastri forever living on in the memory of cricket fans.
One year later, at the same venue, India and Australia would play out an epic thriller yet again. This time, it would be in the 1987 World Cup encounter. It was the first time that the World Cup was being held outside England. India was the defending champions, having won in 1983 in England. Australia, on the other hand, had reached the final of the 1975 World Cup but had struggled in 1979 and 1983.
In the past, Allan Border, the Australian skipper had said that the tied Test in Chennai gave the side the belief to compete in any conditions. Little did he know that the thriller in 1987 in Chennai would lay the foundation for Australia’s dominance in the cricketing world in the 90s and early 21st century.
Australia had trained hard in Chennai before the match against India. The preparations, plus the discipline instilled by their skipper Border and manager Bob Simpson was starting to pay dividends. India won the toss and chose to field on a flat pitch. That decision would prove to be costly. Geoff Marsh and David Boon managed to stitch together a 110-run opening stand. Both players batted with patience and battled the conditions that were almost close to the one in the Test match a year before.
Marsh was the pillar of the side as he took the attack to the Indian bowling. David Boon looked good for a fifty but India got the breakthrough thanks to Ravi Shastri. Dean Jones, the hero of the Chepauk Test in 1986, was his aggressive best as he blasted two fours and two sixes in his quickfire knock. However, one of those sixes would turn the match in a big way later.
Marsh notched up his third century and aided by contributions from the lower middle order, Australia finished up on 270/6. However, that score had a developing story. During Jones’ knock, he hit one shot straight over Maninder Singh’s head. It eluded even Ravi Shastri from fielding down the ground. Umpire Dickie Bird asked the fielder whether it was a six or a four. Shastri gave it as four. However, the Australians did not agree with that. The umpires stated that this would be talked about during the lunch break.
During the lunch interval, Australia manager Alan Crompton discussed this with the umpires. They approached Kapil Dev who agreed with their decision. The boundary was changed to a six. Two more runs were added. What India did not know at that time was that those additional two runs would prove to be very costly.
Sunil Gavaskar started the run-chase brilliantly as he hit six fours and one six in his belligerent knock. For once, it was Gavaskar who was the aggressor rather than his partner Kris Srikkanth. Gavaskar and Srikkanth shared a 69-run stand but Gavaskar fell to Bruce Reid. Srikkanth notched up a fine fifty and he got great support from Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Although Srikkanth fell for 70, Sidhu bludgeoned the Australian bowling to all parts of Chepauk. He was severe on Peter Taylor, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh as he blasted five sixes and four boundaries in his knock of 73 off 79 balls. At 207/2 and with 15.5 overs remaining, it seemed that India would register a big win and start their campaign well. But, Australia fought back well. The match then saw a sequence of events that ended in a remarkable way.
Craig McDermott gave Australia a vital breakthrough as he sent back Sidhu for 73. He then ran through the Indian middle order, dismissing Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Ravi Shastri. India had collapsed in spectacular fashion, losing five wickets for 49 runs. When Simon O’Donnell sent back Kapil Dev for 6, the match had turned in Australia’s favor.
Kiran More, the wicketkeeper was at the crease along with Maninder. It was Maninder who was trapped LBW by Matthews in the Chepauk Test in 1986. Once again, he found himself in the cauldron. India needed eight runs in the final over bowled by Steve Waugh. The over started badly as Manoj Prabhakar was run out. The equation boiled down to two runs off one ball. Waugh was bowling to Maninder. Keeping his cool, Waugh bowled Maninder for 4 and Australia had won by one run.
This was the closest margin of victory in the history of World Cups at that time. The win proved to be a launchpad for Australia’s dominance in the modern era. Despite losing to India in Delhi, Australia reached the final where they would beat their arch-foes England by seven runs in Eden Gardens, Kolkata. For India, the defending champions, they were knocked by England at the Wankhede stadium in the semi-final. It would be the last match for Sunil Gavaskar who retired from international cricket.
After Australia won the 1987 World Cup, India’s cricket entered a stage of stagnation. They were beaten on a consistent basis as they became ‘Tigers at Home, Lambs Abroad.’ However, there would be deja-vu yet again between India and Australia in World Cups. During the 1992 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, India faced Australia in Brisbane.
Dean Jones hit 90 as Australia notched up 237/9 in 50 overs. During India’s innings, the rain forced the match to be reduced to 47 overs. Due to the rain rule complications, the target was reduced by just one run. India needed 236 to win the match. Mohammad Azharuddin hit 93 and was aided by a cameo of 47 from 42 balls by Sanjay Manjrekar, India was in the game.
But, a flurry of wickets once again saw the match tilt in Australia’s favor. 13 runs were needed off the last over bowled by Tom Moody. Kiran More hit two fours and got the equation down to five runs off four balls. But, More was bowled in attempting a paddle sweep. Prabhakar was once again run-out. India needed four runs off the last ball. Javagal Srinath launched a full ball to deep midwicket. He had not timed it well. Steve Waugh dropped the catch. He fired a flat throw at the keeper but it was slightly wide. The batsmen had taken two runs. Venkatapathy Raju was going for the third run in order to tie the match. But, Boon ran and whipped the bails off as Australia won by one run. For two consecutive World Cups, India had played a thriller against Australia.
