OTD | Australia beat India by one run, the narrowest victory in World Cup history in 1987

One of the most heartbreaking moments for the Indian team came in 1987 when Australia beat them by just one run in the third of the ICC ODI World Cup. On winning the toss, India’s skipper, Kapil Dev, decided to field first and invite the mighty Australians to bat first. 

The decision seemed to backfire when the openers made a partnership of 110 runs. Geoff Marsh scored 110 runs off 141 balls, including seven boundaries and one six, while David Boon scored 49 runs off 68 balls, including five boundaries. 

However, after Boon’s dismissal, wickets kept falling at regular intervals for Australia, and they ended up scoring 270 runs in 50 overs. Manoj Prabhakar was India’s standout bowler, as he took two wickets. Also, Maninder Singh, Ravi Shastri, and Roger Binny each took one wicket. 

Dismissing the Australian batters under 300 runs was a huge task, and the bowlers did it successfully. Then the Indian batters came into bat and lost their first wicket on 69 runs. Sunil Gavaskar departed on 37 runs off 32 balls, including six beautiful boundaries and one six. 

But India didn’t tumble in front of the Aussies. Kris Srikkanth and Navjot Sidhu scored 70 and 73 runs, respectively. After their dismissal, India kept losing wickets, and the equation came down to two runs in two balls with one wicket in hand. 

The situation was crunch with Maninder Singh on the crease, facing the deadly Steve Waugh, who had bowled beautifully throughout the innings. The game had slipped away from Australia, but they managed to keep their calm. With two runs needed off two balls, Singh couldn’t take the team home as Waugh bowled a beautiful delivery and dismissed him on the second last ball of the match. With that, India lost the game by just one run. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.