OTD: First World Cup held England went underway in Hyderoutside abad in 1987

It was on this day, October 8, in 1987, that the fourth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup began. This was the first edition of the World Cup to be held outside England and was jointly hosted by India and Pakistan from October 8 to November 8. The tournament was dubbed the Reliance World Cup. Fourteen venues across India and seven venues across Pakistan hosted the World Cup matches. 

The first three editions of the World Cup were played in England, with the West Indies winning the first two editions and India winning the third in 1983. It reflected a monumental shift in world cricket and signalled a new phase in cricket’s globalisation, with the subcontinent taking centre stage.

India, Australia, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe were in Group A, with matches played in India, while Group B featured Pakistan, England, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka, with matches held in Pakistan.

India and Australia qualified for the semi-finals from Group A, while Pakistan and England qualified from Group B. There was a huge possibility of India and Pakistan playing the final in Kolkata, but the excitement faded when Australia defeated India and England beat Pakistan.

Australia won the final, defeating England in a close match by seven runs to win their first-ever World Cup title under Allan Border.

There were some notable records made in this Reliance World Cup. The first-ever World Cup hat-trick was recorded in this edition, with Chetan Sharma becoming the first bowler to do so. He achieved the feat against New Zealand. 

In the same match, legendary Sunil Gavaskar made his one and only ODI century, and the semi-final against England proved to be Gavaskar’s last international match.

Graham Gooch of England made the most runs—471runs in eight games with one century—while Australia’s Craig McDermott took the most wickets—18 in eight games. Viv Richards hit the then-highest score in World Cup cricket, scoring 181 against Sri Lanka, breaking the record of Kapil Dev, who had made 175* in the 1983 edition.

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