World Cup flashback: Allan border's men thrill Chennai

Australia skipper Allan Border

World Cup memory
Border's men thrill Chennai

The previous year's Tied Test at Chennai created huge anticipation for the India v Australia 1987 World Cup game in the southern city where the hosts played their first game of the competition.

Australia scored 268 for six after an opening stand of 110 by Geoff Marsh (110) and David Boon (49). However, the Australian team manager Alan Crompton noticed that a stroke from Dean Jones which was signalled a four was actually a six. Both captains - Allan Border and Kapil Dev met during the innings break and two runs were added to the total.

At 207 for two, India had good reason to believe they would win thanks to the sizzling efforts of Sunil Gavaskar (37), Krishnamachari Srikkanth (70) and Navjot Singh Sidhu (73). But a lethal second spell from pacer Craig McDermott, who claimed four wickets, turned the tide.

Steve Waugh bowled the final over in which he conceded just two runs and dismissed Maninder Singh, who was also the last man dismissed in the Tied Test as well while the Aussies clinched a one-run win. Marsh was named man of the match but some historians felt Crompton was the real hero.

Figured out
The 1983 World Cup couldn't have been memorable for Ravi Shastri as a batsman. In the five matches he figured in, his top score was 17 - against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. Shastri was not picked in the playing XI for the semi-final and final.

Richard Hadlee

Did you know?
The 1987 World Cup held in India and Pakistan had its share of absentees. New Zealand were without Richard Hadlee, West Indies struggled without ace pacer Malcolm Marshall and England missed the services of David Gower.

Man to watch
Imran Tahir

Leggie Imran Tahir has played a pivotal role for South Africa in limited overs cricket ever since his match-winning ODI debut in the 2011 World Cup match against West Indies at New Delhi where he claimed four wickets. His 15 wickets in the 2015 World Cup helped the Proteas advance to the semi-finals. A veteran of 96 ODIs, Tahir, 39, will be a bowler that South Africa's opponents will have to watch out for in the forthcoming World Cup in England. He bids adieu to the 50-over format thereafter.

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