Top 5 Cricket World Cup finals of all time

#3 Australia vs England, Eden Gardens, 1987 World Cup

Traditional rivals Australia and England locked horns in the final of the first 50-over World Cup and the first World Cup outside England. In a thrilling contest at the historic Eden Gardens, Australia prevailed by 7 runs and lifted the coveted World Cup trophy for the first time.

In order to build scoreboard pressure, Aussie skipper Allan Border won the toss and elected to bat. A 75-run opening partnership between David Boon and Geoff Marsh laid the foundation for a solid total. A 76-run partnership for the second wicket followed as Australia looked in command. However, the fall of 3 quick wickets allowed England to come back into the game. Some quick runs down the order from Border and Michael Veletta took the Australians to a formidable 253/5 in 50 overs.

In reply, the Poms were jolted early as they lost the wicket of Robert Robinson. Partnerships of 65 and 69 for the second and third wicket respectively followed as England steadily moved towards the target. At this stage, English skipper Mike Gatting had an absolute brain fade as he was dismissed trying to play a reverse sweep off Border’s bowling. There were no significant partnerships thereafter as England kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the end, they fell agonisingly short of Australia’s total by 7 runs.

Result – Australia win by 7 runs

Man of the Match – David Boon