GQ India – July 2019

HISTORY-MAKER

CLIVE LLOYD
WEST INDIES VS AUSTR ALIA, 1975

It was the Final of the first
ever Cricket World Cup.
The teams: Australia and
West Indies, two giants of
the game, and also two
very evenly matched sides.
All that was needed was
someone to step up and
be the differentiator. That
someone was Lloyd. The
Windies, batting first, were
down 28/2, thanks to the pace
and swing of Gary Gilmour
and Dennis Lillee, when
“Big C” came out to bat. Not
only did he show exemplary
patience in the beginning,
he switched gears towards
the end, playing an innings
that’s considered impressive
even in today’s T20 style of
play. Scoring at a strike rate
of 120, something unheard
of at the time, Lloyd took his
team to an impressive 291 (in
60 overs), contributing 102
off just 85 deliveries himself.
West Indies would go on to
defend their total by 17 runs,
etching their names in the
history books forever.

THE IMPOSSIBLE CATCH

K APIL DEV

INDIA VS WEST INDIES, 1983

At 57/2 chasing 184, two-time

champions West Indies were

on course for a third straight

trophy. The legendary Sir Viv

Richards had settled in at

the crease, maybe a little too

comfortably, when he nicked

a Madan Lal delivery up in the

air. The ball travelled towards

the boundary – but so did

Dev, who leaped up as it went

sailing over him, and somehow

took the catch. The crowd,

who’d been at the edge of the

ropes, ran onto the ground in

joy (literally). That moment

triggered a batting collapse,

and West Indies fell 43 runs

short of the target, giving India

their first World Cup.

LEADING FROM THE FRONT

ADAM GILCHRIST

AUSTR ALIA VS SRI L ANK A, 2007

Sri Lanka were arguably the favoured

team of this edition, their bowling attack

one of the most lethal in the competition,

and one to be feared. No one gave

Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist that

memo for the Final – a match reduced

to 38 overs a side due to rain delay. Both

openers went to town, playing vintage

attacking strokes and galloping to 172.

While Hayden fell at 38, Gilchrist made

148 off 104 deliveries, including eight huge

6s. His performance would set the tone for

the game, as Australia took home a third

straight (and fourth overall) trophy.

MASTER CLASS

AR AVINDA DE SILVA

SRI L ANK A VS AUSTR ALIA, 1996

Perhaps one of the best all-round

performances in a World Cup ever, de

Silva almost single-handedly won Sri

Lanka the 1996 Final. He gave his team

a breakthrough during Australia’s

batting not once, not twice, but three

times: picking up the crucial wickets

of Mark Taylor, Ricky Ponting and

Ian Healy, and helping to restrict the

Aussies to 241. When Sri Lanka got off

to a rocky start in the chase, and found

themselves at 27/2, de Silva stepped

up once again. His was a perfect

outing on cricket’s biggest stage, as

he scored a clinical century, remaining

unbeaten to the end. The trophy was

well-deserved.