The 1987 Cricket World Cup, also known Reliance World Cup 1987 for sponsorship reasons, was the fourth edition of ICC Cricket World Cup tournaments. It was co-hosted by India and Pakistan, making it the first World Cup to be held outside England. The World Cup 1987 spanned for a month, starting from October 8 to November 8. However, unlike the 1983 World Cup, the number of overs per side in a match was reduced to 50, the norm that time for the games played outside England. Cricket World Cup History: Winners, Host Nations, Participating Teams and Timeline of All the CWC From 1975 to 2015.

The tournament was played at 22 venues across India and Pakistan, with the final of the tournament being played at the iconic Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. The 1987 Cricket World Cup featured 27 matches, played in the round-robin and subsequently in knockout format.

Participating Teams & Formats: A total of eight teams participated in the 1987 Cricket World Cup, which were equally divided in two Groups, i.e. A and B. Group A comprised of teams like India, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe. On the other hand, Group B comprised of Pakistan, England, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Schedule in PDF: Ticket Prices, Dates, Venue Details & Timetable Available for Download Online.

Semi-Finalists: Top two teams from both the groups had to qualify for the semi-finals. From Group A, table-toppers India and second-placed Australia qualified for the semi-finals. From Group B, it was Pakistan and England who secured semi-finals’ berths.

The first semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan saw the former win the match by 18 runs, where Craig McDermott won the ‘Player of the Match’ award. In the second semi-final contest, England defeated defending champions India by 35 runs, where Graham Gooch was adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’.

Winner: Australia won the toss and chose to bat. Riding high on a half-century by David Boon (75 runs) and a cameo by Mike Veletta (45 runs of 31 balls), Australia posted a daunting total of 253/5 on the scoreboard. In reply, Bill Athey scored a half-century (58 runs), while Mike Gatting (41 runs) and Allan Lamb (45 runs) contributed significantly. However, the English side fall short of 7 runs, and lost the match. David Boon was awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his half-century. It was Australia’s first World Cup win and also the beginning of the downfall of the mighty West Indies cricket team.

Graham Gooch of England emerged as the highest run-scorer batsman in the tournament where he scored 471 runs in 8 games, followed by David Boon who scored 447 runs in the same number of matches. Australia’s Craig McDermott claimed 18 wickets in 8 matches and emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, followed by Imran Khan who picked 17 wickets in 7 matches.

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