Clive Lloyd galvanized a talented but inexperienced lot of players from the Caribbean and led them to a famous win over a strong Australian team in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Cup in England.
Lloyd aggregated 158 runs in three innings at an average of 52.66 and strike rate of 104.63 – including one hundred and a fifty. More than his volume of runs, what stood out was their timing and the manner in which he scored them.
Coming in to bat at 36 for 3, chasing 267 against Pakistan, he scored 53 in just 58 deliveries inspiring the lower-middle order to pull off a sensational one-wicket win with just two deliveries to spare.
He gave a match-winning performance in the final against Australia, when, batting first, he resurrected the West Indian innings from 50 for 3 and hammered a brilliant 102 off just 85 deliveries (at a strike rate of 120 which was unheard of in that era) to lift them to 291. He then combined with Vivian Richards to run out Ian Chappell – the highest scorer for Australia - before cleaning up a well-settled Doug Walters in the space of 8 runs to change the match on its head. Lloyd conceded just 38 runs in his 12 overs and was also the most restrictive bowler of the match.
Lloyd scored tough runs under pressure and remarkably, at a very high strike rate – the average strike rate of all the other batsmen who scored a minimum of 100 runs in the tournament was 69.16 – more than 35 runs per hundred balls slower than Lloyd
Clive Lloyd scored 102 off 85 balls with 12 fours and two sixes duirng the match between Australia and West Indies in the Prudential Cricket World Cup 1975 held at Lord's, London on June 21, 1975
This win gave rise to a new era in world cricket – an era dominated by West Indies for the next decade and a half.
1979: Vivian Richards
There were three contenders for the Player of the Tournament in 1979.
Gordon Greenidge was the most consistent batsman of the edition and also the highest scorer with 253 runs in 4 innings including one hundred and two fifties.
Colin Croft gave two match-winning performances in the semi-final and final (picking three wickets each in both the matches).
But the player who had the maximum impact overall in the knockout matches was Vivian Richards.
Richards reserved his best for when it mattered the most. In the semi-final against Pakistan, he registered 42 off 62 deliveries helping West Indies post a massive 293. He then ended any hopes of a Pakistani win by getting three wickets in quick succession – Mudassar Nazar, Asif Iqbal and Imran Khan – reducing them from 220 for 5 to 228 for 8. West Indies went on to win by 43 runs.
But his best was yet to come.
At Lord’s, in the final against hosts England, he came in to bat at 22 for 1 which soon worsened to 36 for 2, 55 for 3 and 99 for 4 (with Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Alvin Kallicharran and Lloyd all back in the pavilion). Richards soaked in the pressure of the occasion and blasted an unbeaten 138 in just 157 deliveries, putting together a match-winning 139-run fifth-wicket stand with Collis King. West Indies posted 286. Richards was also very restrictive giving away just 35 runs in his 10 overs. West Indies won by 92 runs and lifted their second consecutive World Cup Trophy
1983: Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev was the standout all-rounder of the 1983 World Cup producing match-winning performances with the bat and maintaining a brilliant economy rate with the ball often chipping in with crucial breakthroughs.
He did not fail even once in the 8 matches he played in the tournament.
He was the fifth-highest run getter of the tournament with an aggregate of 303 runs in 8 innings at an average of 60.6 and more importantly at a strike rate of 108.99 – the second-highest (min. 100 runs) of the World Cup after Rod Marsh.
He stood out for his ability to score tough runs under pressure (of fall of early wickets) at a high strike rate. No other innings exhibited this quality better than his 175 off just 138 deliveries against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. Kapil came in at 9 for 4 which soon worsened to 17 for 5. He resurrected the innings with Roger Binny putting 60 for the sixth wicket. He then partnered with Madan Lal (contribution of 17) and added 62 for the eighth wicket. But at 140 for 8 India were still in the doldrums.
Then Kapil, along with Syed Kirmani did the unthinkable! The pair added an unbeaten 126 run-stand – the second-highest stand for the 9th wicket in ODI history (Kirmani’s contribution was 24) to power India to 266 for 8 in their allotted 60 overs. Kapil remained unbeaten on a majestic 175 off just 138 deliveries - a knock that included 6 towering sixes! He batted splendidly with the lower order and only really cut loose after reaching his hundred in the 49th – hammering another 75 in the final 11 overs.
He was also phenomenally restrictive throughout the tournament as his economy rate of 2.91 indicated – amongst the top five pacers on this count – his 1-21 in 11 overs (which included 4 maidens) against the West Indies in the final at Lord’s the best example of his restrictive bowling. He also took the catches of Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards – the best batsman of the tournament - who threatened to take the match away from India – it was the turning point of the match leading India to a memorable victory over one of the greatest teams in ODI history – a victory that changed Indian cricket forever.
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