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With an eight team tournament planned again, only one team qualified from the ICC Trophy, held in England in mid 1986. Zimbabwe yet again dominated the tournament, gaining maximum points in group play, and beating the Netherlands in the final. The format of the tournament remained much the same, the only difference being the reduction of overs to the now standard 50 per side, but the location changed, this time to Asia, jointly hosted by the arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

Group A:-

This group, played entirely in India, contained Australia, India, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, and the tournament got off to a thrilling start as India played Australia in front of a packed house in Madras. Marsh (110) and Boon (49) put on 110 for the first wicket, and enabled the later batsman to hit out, setting India 271 to win (although the scoreboard, missing a signal from the umpires gave a total of two less). Srikkanth (73) and Sidhu (70) saw them well on their way, and India at one point were 207/2 with only 71 required in 95 balls. McDermott stepped in with 4 crucial wickets, and with the last over to be bowled, India needed 8 runs, with two wickets left. A run-out left India needing 2 off the last two balls, but Steve Waugh bowled the last man Maninder Singh to give Australia a nail biting win.

The Zimbabwe - New Zealand opener was no less exciting. A successful experiment to promoting Snedden (64) to open, and a characteristically accomplished innings from Martin Crowe (72) set Zimbabwe 243 to win, a target that looked well beyond their reach as they fell to 104/7. David Houghton, accompanied by Iain Butchart proceeded to play one of the great innings of World cup history. They put on a record 117 for the 8th wicket, before Houghton, tiring and suffering from cramps holed out in the deep to an unbelievable catch from Martin Crowe. Butchart kept up the chase, and Zimbabwe needed only 6 from the last over, with the last pair at the wicket. Singles from the first two balls, and then a miss from Butchart left Zimbabwe only 2 runs back, but with victory in their grasp, a mix-up on an attempted leg bye resulted in Butchart being run out.

After all this excitement, it was no surprise that the Australia - Zimbabwe match was a bit of an anti-climax, with an easy win for Australia. 62 from Marsh, 67 from Border and a 41 ball 45 from Steve Waugh took Australia to 235, a target Zimbabwe never looked like attaining. O'Donnell took 4 wickets, and Steve Waugh bowled 6 overs for 7 runs,as Australia won by 96 runs. India's match against New Zealand was closer. Sidhu (72) and a rapid 75 from Kapil Dev helped by 42* from More took India to an impressive 252 - a total that had looked unlikely when both India's openers were run out with only 10 on the board. Rutherford (75) and Jones (64) gave New Zealand a chance, but the late order failed against keen bowling, and they fell 13 runs short. India made short work of Zimbabwe in their first encounter, with Prabhakar reducing Zimbabwe to 13/4 with his opening spell. Only 61 from Pycroft allowed Zimbabwe to reach 135, and India knocked off the runs for the loss of two wickets in 28 overs.

Rain interfered with the Australia - New Zealand match with no play on the scheduled day. For the first time in a World Cup, the over allocations were reduced to 30 a side in an attempt to complete a game on the reserve day. Boon (87) and Dean Jones (52) allowed Australia to attain 199, but New Zealand thanks to Martin Crowe were in with a chance until wickets tumbled towards the end. Needing a boundary off the final ball, New Zealand lost by 3 runs. With half the first round completed Australia were unbeaten, and India close behind, leaving New Zealand and Zimbabwe with much to do.

India reversed the result of the opening match with a fine 56 run win over Australia. Half centuries from Gavaskar, Sidhu, Vengsarksar and Azharuddin took India to an imposing 289/6. Despite 62 from Boon, Australia were always behind the run-rate with the tail end falling to Azharuddin (3/19) after Maninder Singh (3/34) had bowled well. Zimbabwe, despite fifties from Pycroft, Arnott, and Houghton lost to New Zealand, with the Crowe brothers both impressing, Jeff with 88* and Martin with 58. Zimbabwe fared no better in their next encounter, losing to India by 7 wickets, Kapil Dev with 2 wickets and 41* capturing the man of the match award.

New Zealand's hopes of advancing evaporated when they lost a close game to Australia. Marsh batted through the Australian innings for 126*, supported by Jones (56). New Zealand were in with a chance after Wright's 61, but panic set in as the run-rate rose, and two run outs ended the innings, 17 runs short in the penultimate over.Zimbabwe's World Cup ended with a defeat by Australia, Boon's 93 helping set a target that was too much for the Zimbabwe batting. Zimbabwe returned home with an enhanced reputation, never completely out of any game, and as the best fielding side of the tournament. India made the semi-finals in style thumping New Zealand in the final preliminary round match. Facing a modest target of 221, Srikkanth (75), Gavaskar (103*) and Azharuddin (41*) swept India to victory in only 32 overs, and they finished first in the group on run rate.

Group-B:-

England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the West Indies played in Group B. most of the games were played in Pakistan, and the home team started well defeating Sri Lanka that went to the last over. Rameez Raja made 76, and Javed Miandad a superb 103, as Pakistan totalled 267. Mahanama set a solid foundation with 89, but Sri Lanka were behind the run rate until Avarinda De Silva arrived on the World Cup scene with a whirlwind 42 in 31 balls. This was not enough, and Pakistan were the victors by 15 runs. England and the West Indies contested an extraordinary match, with England the unlikely winners by 2 wickets. Emburey bowled superbly, conceding only 22 runs off his 10 overs, but the West Indies accelerated well thanks to Dujon and Logie, and finished on a respectable 243. England made a poor start, but Gooch made a solid 43. Lamb took over after Gooch fell, but the asking rate was over 9 per over when Emburey joined him. DeFreitas contributed a quick 21, but Lamb and Foster were left to score 35 runs off the last 3 overs, and finally 13 off the last. Lamb pulled the 1st ball to mid-wicket for 2. Next ball he drew away to slice the ball to third man for 4 and as Lamb drew away again, Walsh gave away 4 wides. to compound his misery Walsh bowled a no-ball, and Foster steered the 3rd ball of the over to the third man boundary to give England a 2 wicket victory. Walsh gave away 54 runs in his last 4.3 overs.

England could not pull off the same trick twice, and the lower order collapsed to give Pakistan an 18 run win. Saleem Malik had top-scored with 65, and 15 runs off the final over bowled by Emburey took Pakistan to 239. Without Imran Khan, off the field through illness, Javed Miandad took over the captaincy, and marshalling his resources well did not allow the England bats to settle. The top four all played themselves in but failed to build a significant innings, and the rest folded without much resistance. Abdul Qadir took 4/31. Sri Lanka were crushed by the West Indies, losing by 191 runs, in a match remarkable for the batting of Viv Richards whose 181 was the highest individual innings in World Cup history until passed by Kirsten in 1996. He took 97 balls to reach 100, then opened up hitting Ratnayake for 43 runs on 2 overs. de Mel conceded 97 runs, the worst analysis for 10 completed overs in World Cups, and Haynes almost incidentally made 105. Mahanama hit Patterson for 3 fours in the first over, but after that Sri Lanka settled for batting practice, making no attempt to reach the mammoth 361 needed to win. Gaddafi Stadium on Lahore saw a thrilling game between West Indies and Pakistan, with Pakistan scraping out a one wicket win. The West Indies got off to a good start with fifties from Haynes and Richards, but fine bowling from Imran Khan (4/37 saw them all out for 216. Pakistan slumped to 110/5 with Walsh taking 4 wickets, but thanks to 56 from Salim Yousuf, and a nail biting 14 run last wicket partnership between Abdul Qadir and Salim Jaffer came out the winners. England's match against Sri Lanka was affected by rain but it made little difference in a one-sided encounter. England batted out their full 50 overs, with Gooch top-scoring with 84, and 76 from Lamb. After rain Sri Lanka had to chase 267 in 45 overs, but were never close, making only 158/8. England ran up against an in form Pakistan batting line up in Karachi. England batted well with Athey (86) and Gatting (60) contributing to their total of 244, but Pakistan won with ease, Rameez Raja (113) and Saleem Malik (88) putting on 167 for the 2nd wicket.

After half the preliminary round, the surprise was the West Indies, in third place behind England and Pakistan. They took on Sri Lanka in their next match, and won, but not without a few scares. Simmons (89) and Logie (65*) set the foundations for a good total, but the lower order added little in the slog overs, and Sri Lanka needed 237 to win. 89* from Ranatunga took Sri Lanka close, but he lacked support, and quick runs when needed, and West Indies won by 25 runs. Pakistan's 297 (Saleem Malik with a century) was too much for Sri Lanka in their match in Faisalabad. Ranatunga and Mendis scored half-centuries but again Sri Lanka were unable to score at a fast enough rate to chase a big target. England took on the West Indies in a critical match at Jaipur, with both sides desperately needing the win to advance to the semi-finals.gooch led the way for England with 93, well supported by the middle order, and West Indies were set 270 to win. Fine bowling by Defreitas (3/28), backed by excellent fielding saw England the winners by 34 runs, despite 91 from Richardson. England sewed up a semi-final place with another easy win over Sri Lanka. Dias made 80, but a total of 218 was inadequate, and England won by 8 wickets with 9 overs to spare. West Indies needed a win against Pakistan, already assured of first place in the group, to stand a chance of advancing, and this they did, by 28 runs. Richardson made a century, Richards 67, and despite 70 from Rameez Raja, Patterson (3/34) and Walsh (2/34) were too much for Pakistan. West Indies however failed to advance due to England's win.

The semi-finals:-

The interesting prospect of an India - Pakistan final loomed as England took on India in Bombay, and Australia played Pakistan in Lahore. This was not to be, however. England batted first, and a magnificent 115 from Gooch, ably supported by Gatting allowed England to reach 254. Kapil Dev bowled well with 2/34 from his 10 overs. India lost early wickets, but Azharuddin put them in contention with 64 until the off-spinner Eddie Hemmings had him lbw. Hemmings snapped up three more wickets as the Indian tail desperately looked for quick runs, but India were all out in the 46th over, 35 runs short. The Australian top order had rarely failed, and they did not in their semi-final, with Boon leading the way with 65, and Velletta contributing a hard hit 48 to a final total of 267. Pakistan lost their most consistent bat Rameez Raja to a run out, and were 35/3 before Javed Miandad (70) and Imran Khan (56) built a partnership that took them within striking distance. The run rate was climbing however, Pakistan found it hard to accelerate against McDermott (5/44), and Australia won by 18 runs.

The final:-

Maybe it wasn't India v Pakistan but 80,000 people filled Eden Gardens to watch two other old enemies England and Australia contest the closest World Cup final to date. On a slow pitch it was an advantage to bat first, and this is what Border chose to do on winning the toss. Boon (75) and Marsh got Australia off to a flying start against wayward bowling from Defreitas and Small, and solid support from Border and Velletta took Australia to 253. Robinson fell early but Gooch and Athey (58) laid a solid foundation for England, and when Gooch was out Gatting (45) took up the chase. The turning point was when Border chose to bowl himself against his rival captain, and an unwise reverse sweep off his first ball only result in a catch to the keeper. The run rate rose to 8 per over, and then 36 required off the last three. Defreitas then hit four, six, and another four in the 48th over reducing the target to 19 off 12 balls. Steve Waugh bowled the 49th over, conceding only two runs, and having DeFreitas caught, and Australia won their first World Cup by just 7 runs.

It was a fine team effort by Australia, with Marsh, Boon, Waugh, Jones and Velletta all averaging over 40, and Boon and Marsh scoring over 400 runs. Boon had five half-centuries in 8 innings, a World Cup record. McDermott led all bowlers with 18 wickets, still a Cup record, and Gooch was the top run scorer.

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