West Indies become Champions again at the 1979 World Cup
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Sir Clive Lloyd led the Windies to their second consecutive World Cup win
The 2nd Cricket World Cup (WC) staged in England from June 9-23, 1979, 4 years after the first WC, was again won by the West Indies. The format of the tournament remained unchanged from 1975, with 8 countries participating. Other than the 6 Test-playing nations, Sri Lanka and Canada made up the 7nth and 8th teams. Sri Lanka drew Group B, while Canada was placed in Group A. East Africa could not make it this time, which meant no nation from the African region entered the 2nd WC.
The preliminary games were played in 2 Groups of 4 teams each, the 2 top teams played the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the finals at Lord’s.
However, Sri Lanka, still an Associate Member of the ICC, recorded an upset win by beating India, the 1st occasion when an Associate Member of the ICC beat a Test-playing country. Here is the story.
India possessed a team of experienced players led by skipper, off-spinner Venkataraghavan, with legendary left-arm spinner Bishen Bedi in support. Their batting was their strong point, with Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Viswanath, Brijesh Patel, and all-rounders Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amaranath.
Sri Lanka skipper Anura Tennekoon was injured and Bandula Warnapura led Sri Lanka in his absence. India won the toss and sent Sri Lanka in, possibly hoping for an early win? Sri Lanka made a sedate 238/5. Sunil Wettimuny- 67 in 120 balls, and Duleep Mendis- a dashing 64 with 3 sixes in 50 balls, which earned him Man of the Match, were the main contributors. The stylish Roy Dias chipped in with 50 in 88 balls.
Surely, the Indians may have thought the target would be a walk in the park. However, they were in for a big surprise, with paceman Tony Opatha- 3/31 and leg-spinner D.S. de Silva- 3/29, making inroads into their batting. Not one star Indian batsmen was able to reach fifty, as the Indians caved in for 191 in 54.1 overs, conceding the game by 47 runs! The Sri Lankans must have celebrated that night, and deservedly so.
However, having lost to New Zealand tamely, and an abandoned game against the West Indies, without a ball being bowled, Sri Lanka could not make further progress in the tournament.
The two semi-finals were exciting battles
In the first semifinal between New Zealand and England, the former won the toss and sent England into bat. From 38/2, thanks to Graham Gooch- 71 from 84 ball, and Mike Brearley- 53 from 115 balls, England posted 221 in their allotted 60 overs. In reply, John Wright- 69 from 137 balls, began well but, eventually, when New Zealand faltered, requiring 14 runs in the last over, and England with a 9-run win crept into the final.
In the 2nd semifinal between the West Indies and Pakistan, batting first, the West Indies ran up a commanding total of 293/6 with Asif Iqbal- 4/56, being the most successful Pakistani bowler. West Indies openers Gordon Greenidge- 73 from 107 balls, and Desmond Haynes- 65 from 115 balls, set a 1st wicket partnership of 132 runs, and there was no going back after that, with useful contributions from Vivian Richards and skipper Clive Lloyd. The Pakistanis began spiritedly with a 2nd wicket partnership of 166 runs between Majid Khan- 81 from 124 balls, and Zaheer Abbas- 93 from 122 balls, in 36 overs. However, with the dismissal of Javed Miandad for a 1st ball duck, things looked gloomy for the Pakistanis. Colin Croft- 3/29 and off-spinner Viv Richards- 3/52, made short work of the rest of the Pakistanis, who were bowled out for 250 runs in 56.2 overs, and the West Indies, with a 43-run win, went into the final for the 2nd time in the WC tournament.
Then came the thrilling final between England and West Indies. England won the toss and sent the West Indies into bat. After a poor start, with the loss of Greenidge Haynes, Kallicharan and skipper Lloyd, Viv Richards- 138 from 157 balls (11 fours and 3 sixes) and a blistering innings of 86 from 66 balls (10 fours and 3 sixes) by Collif King turned the game around for the West Indies, to a total of 286/9 in 60 overs.
In reply, England openers Mike Brearley- 64 from 130 balls, and Geoff Boycott- 57 from 105 balls, dawdled to make 129 runs in 38 overs. Now 157 runs were required in 22 overs, an asking rate of over 7 runs an over. Gooch tried his best, but a sensational loss of 8 wickets for 11 runs meant England caved in for 194 runs in 51 overs, and lost by 92 runs. Joel Garner- 5/38, Colin Croft- 3/42 and Michael Holding- 2/16, were the chief wreckers. So the West Indians, under Lloyd were champs the 2nd successive time in the WC tournament. Viv Richards was adjudged the Man of the Match.
All cricket lovers were now waiting for the 1983 WC tournament – will the West Indians make a hat-trick of wins? An amazing surprise awaited them!
The official Sri Lanka team photograph for the 1979 World Cup