The World Cup moved out of England for the first time because a top-ranking official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was slighted for having requested a couple of complimentary tickets to the 1983 final at Lord’s.
Officials from India and Pakistan joined hands to bring the Cup to the sub-continent with the BCCI, guided by politician and cricket lover N.K.P. Salve, roping in Reliance as the sponsor. It was a test, and India delivered. The Cup was a huge success, with Australia winning the final at the majestic Eden Gardens in Calcutta.
It was an organisational challenge. The cricket structure was spruced up with the venues meeting international standards. The 1983 triumph had given cricket a fillip and this was a platform to usher in a new era. The excitement among the cricket lovers was palpable and ran through the ranks as spectators filled up the arenas to back the teams. It was a pleasant sight to watch the fielders dive around, a new phenomenon on Indian grounds.
India was the favourite and Pakistan the next best. Neither progressed to the title contest. India perished at Bombay and Pakistan sank at Lahore. Australia and England played a tight final at an overflowing Eden. In a riveting battle, Allan Border marshalled his dedicated team against a munificent England to carry the Cup home, much against the run of play.
“Sometimes, one good game can change your cricketing fortune forever,” said Border. The good game came at Madras in the opener when Australia beat India by one run. During the break between innings, match referee Hanif Mohammad added two runs to the Australian total, converting a four into a six. It proved a providential ‘gift’ for Border’s team.
“ The sub-continent’s first brush with the Cup featured classic contests involving even the weaker oppositions ”
The Cup offered some classic contests involving even the weaker oppositions. Pakistan beating the West Indies by one wicket, Zimbabwe losing to New Zealand by three runs, Australia winning against New Zealand by three runs and eventually the
final, only seven runs separating Australia and England, were some of the memorable ties of the Cup. Running between the wickets was the key because of the heavy outfields, and the overall fielding standards of the teams also had an impact on the game.
For Australia, the emergence of Steve Waugh as the crisis man proved the difference in some important matches. His parsimonious spells and stifling ‘death overs’ earned him the sobriquet ‘Ice Man’. Just 22, playing his first World Cup, Waugh displayed amazing composure in
hopeless situations. He denied India a win at Madras, left New Zealand three runs short, claiming Martin Crowe and Ian Smith, and conceded a mere two to England in the penultimate over of the final.
The famed Aussie resilience was scripted under the partnership of Border and coach Bob Simpson. As Border explained, much credit belonged to Simpson who insisted on the consistency of the openers, David Boon (447 runs with five fifties) and Geoff Marsh (428 runs with two centuries and a fifty), a steady approach until the halfway stage and then, what he called the “Happy Hour” in the last 15 overs.
The bowlers were instructed to employ a “change of pace” and the formula worked wonderfully for a team that included Andrew Zesers, a medium-pacer who did not play beyond two ODIs of the Cup.
But, a great was born in Steve Waugh, the biggest gain of the Cup for Australia.
