The
inaugural ICC Cricket World Cup final was held on 21 June 1975 at Lord's,
contested by
Australia and the West Indies. A man of the match performance, including a century from West Indian captain Clive Lloyd coming in to bat at number five with his team 50/3, formed the basis of a 149-run fourth-wicket partnership with Rohan Kanhai. Keith Boyce added a quick 34 and the Australians were set a target of 292 to win in a 60-over encounter. In reply, Alan Turner hit 40 from 54 deliveries and Australian captain Ian Chappell scored 62 from 93 balls. Australia "contributed to their own destruction" in an innings with five run outs, and the West Indies were crowned the first cricket world champions, winning by 17 runs.
Four years
later, the West Indies qualified for the final once again, this time facing
England, hosted at
Lord's for the second consecutive tournament. An unbeaten
138 from Viv Richards, and support from Collis King in a 139-run partnership
for the fifth wicket, saw the West Indies set England a target of 287 runs to
win in 60 overs. A profitable yet slow opening partnership between Mike Brearley
and Geoffrey Boycott (the latter taking 17 overs to reach double figures) saw
England to 129. However, following Brearley's dismissal, only Graham Gooch and
Derek Randall made a "brief assault" on the West Indian bowling,
before a batting collapse, Joel Garner taking five wickets in eleven balls.
England ended 194 all out, and presented the West Indies with their second
consecutive title, winning by 92 runs.
The third
World Cup final in June 1983, once again hosted at Lord's, was the West Indies'
third
consecutive final. On this occasion, they faced India in front of 24,609
spectators. Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed early in the innings for two runs, and
only Kris Srikkanth scored more than thirty; Andy Roberts took three wickets
for the West Indies leaving India all out for 183. Following the dismissals of
Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes and Larry Gomes by Madan Lal for six runs between
them, the West Indies collapsed to 140 all out, handing the title to India by
43 runs.
India and
Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 tournament; the final was held at Eden Gardens in
Kolkata between Australia and England, both appearing for the second time and
vying for their first title. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first;
David Boon scored 75 runs from 125 deliveries, while Mike Veletta made a rapid
45 from 31 deliveries taking Australia to a total of 253/5 by the close of
play, this time after 50 overs. In front of around 70,000 spectators, England's
middle order of Bill Athey, Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb provided some resistance,
but with 17 runs required in the final over to win, England fell short and lost
by 7 runs.
The 1992
tournament was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, with the first ever
day/night final being held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia between
England and Pakistan. In their first final appearance, Pakistan won the toss
and elected to bat first. Despite two early wickets from Derek Pringle,
Pakistani batsmen Imran Khan and Javed Miandad shared a third-wicket
partnership
of 139. Both Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram added over thirty runs
each at more than a run-a-ball, leading Pakistan to a total of 249/6 in 50
overs. A crowd of over 87,000 saw man-of-the-match Wasim Akram take three of
England's wickets, including that of all-rounder Ian Botham for a duck, after
Graeme Hick was "baffled by the googly". England were bowled out for
227, and Pakistan won by 22 runs.
India and
Pakistan, along with Sri Lanka, once again hosted the tournament in 1996 where
Sri Lanka making their first appearance in the final, faced 1987 champions
Australia in another day/night contest. After winning the toss, Arjuna
Ranatunga sent Australia in to bat at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Captain
Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting added 101 in their second-wicket partnership as
Australia completed their 50 overs 241/7. Man of the match Aravinda de Silva's
century, assisted by partnerships with Asanka Gurusinha and Ranatunga led Sri
Lanka to the total with 22 balls and 7 wickets to spare, and their first win in
the final. This was the first time a host won the title, though the final was
played in Pakistan. It was also the first time that the team batting second
emerged victorious.
Australia's
"12-year era of World Cup dominance" began with the 1999 tournament,
hosted for the
fourth time by England. Australia's Adam Gilchrist made sizeable
contributions with the bat in three consecutive finals. In a
"one-sided" final, Shane Warne's four wickets helped to restrict
Pakistan to 132 runs, all out with 11 overs yet to bat. A rapid fifty from Adam
Gilchrist, and support from Mark Waugh, Ponting and Darren Lehmann, saw
Australia reach the total in just over 20 overs, winning by eight wickets.
The 2003
tournament had three co-hosts: South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the final
being a
day/night match contested between Australia and India at the Wanderers
Stadium in Johannesburg. Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden opened the batting,
making a century partnership before Ponting and Damien Martin went on to score
the highest partnership in any World Cup final with an unbeaten 234. Australia
batted out their fifty overs, and ended on the highest score in World Cup final
history: 359/2. Player of the tournament Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the
first over of India's reply but Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid combined to
score 88 in their fourth wicket partnership. However, following Dravid's
dismissal, India's batting collapsed, and they finished on 234 all out with
nearly eleven overs remaining, handing Australia a 125-run victory.
The 2007 final,
held at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, was reduced to 38 overs a side
following a
two-hour rain delay. Australia's Gilchrist hit the fastest century
in a World Cup final at a strike rate of over 143 and his opening stand with
Hayden became the largest first-wicket partnership in World Cup history.
Australia ended on 281/4, an average of 7.39 runs per over. In reply, Sanath
Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara accumulated 116 runs for the second wicket, but
with Chamara Silva the only other batsman to score over 20, Sri Lanka
capitulated. Despite a revised target, due to a further rain break, calculated
using the Duckworth–Lewis method, Sri Lanka scored 215–8 from their allotted
overs. With a 53-run victory, Australia won their third consecutive World Cup.
Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka co-hosted the 2011
tournament, with the latter pair meeting in the
final in the Wankhede Stadium
in Mumbai. Scoring 91 runs in their final 10 overs, Sri Lanka's innings ended
on 271/4, Mahela Jayawardene top-scoring with an unbeaten 103. Sehwag was out
leg before wicket to Lasith Malinga in the second ball of the Indian innings,
Tendulkar soon followed him, but 97 from Gautam Gambhir and an unbeaten 91 from
MS Dhoni saw India home with 10 balls to spare. By winning the match, India
became the first team to win the finals on home soil.year | winner | runner-up |
---|---|---|
2015 | ||
2011 | India | Sri Lanka |
2007 | Australia | Sri Lanka |
2003 | Australia | India |
1999 | Australia | Pakistan |
1996 | Sri Lanka | Australia |
1992 | Pakistan | England |
1987 | Australia | England |
1983 | India | West Indies |
1979 | West Indies | England |
1975 | West Indies | Australia |
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