One of the fiercest and most-revered teams in the history of cricket, Australia lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time on this day (November 8) in 1987 in Kolkata. With six ODI World Cup titles to their name, the Australia cricket team is one of the most successful sides in the history of the competition.
Australia lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time in 1987, beating England in the final played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Led by Allan Border, Australia claimed a victory by seven runs to win their first-ever World Cup title.
Here we take a look at the 1987 World Cup final that was played on November 8.
The-then Australia skipper Allan Border won the toss and elected to bat first. The decision to bat first did turn out to be an effective one as the Aussies succeeded in putting up a solid total. Batting first, Australia reached a defendable total of 253 at the loss of five wickets.
Opening batter David Boon emerged as Australia’s highest scorer in the final. Boon played a fine knock of 75 off 125 deliveries in the 1987 World Cup final against England. Later, Mike Veletta chipped in with valuable contributions of unbeaten 45 runs off 31 balls. Eddie Hemmings was England’s most impactful bowler in the final as he scalped two wickets in the match.
England did not enjoy a smooth start to their run chase as they lost their opening batter Tim Robinson for a duck.
Graham Gooch did try to weather the storm but he departed scoring 35 runs facing 57 balls. Bill Athey was England’s highest scorer in the final having scored a half century. But Athey failed to convert his half century to a big score as he returned to the dressing room scoring 58 runs off 103 balls.
England skipper Mike Gatting also looked in fine touch but failed to produce a big knock. Gatting departed scoring 41 runs off 45 balls.
Both Gatting and Allan Lamb both missed out on their half centuries despite producing valuable knocks during the run chase. Lamb fell short of his half century by five runs.
England, eventually, managed to reach 246 in 50 overs, thus, losing the final by seven runs. Steve Waugh and captain Allan Border picked up two wickets each for Australia in the 1987 World Cup final against England.
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