Cricket World Cup History - First World Cup 1975
In 1975, England hosted the first Cricket World Cup. The event, which took place from June 7 to July 21, featured eight teams. Eight teams were divided into two four-person groups.
The group's top two teams moved directly to the semi-finals.
At the time, there was a 60-over contest. The players were dressed in traditional cricket garb at the time. All of the games were held on the same day. The match lasted 120 overs in total. As a result, the contest began quickly.
England has been placed in the first group. New Zealand is a country in the Pacific Ocean. Teams from India and East Africa competed. West Indies, Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka made up the second group. Sunil Gavaskar, the famous Indian cricketer, played in only one World Cup match.
Only 36 runs were scored in 60 overs. In his entire game, he only hit one four. It was a match against England. Before batting first at Lord's, England took four wickets in 60 overs and scored 334 runs. Dennis Amis scored 137 runs in his game.
India, on the other hand, scored 132 for three in 60 overs. Gavaskar faced 174 deliveries and scored 36 runs, including a four, to remain unbeaten.
With 37 runs, Gundappa Vishwanath was the leading scorer. Gavaskar is claimed to have played a slow game in order to counter ODI cricket. Srinivas Venkataraghavan was India's World Cup captain.
However, India defeated East Africa by ten wickets in a match in which Sunil Gavaskar scored an unbeaten 65 off 86 balls while also hitting nine fours. In this World Cup, India has only won one match, and that was against East Africa.
Through the first group, England and New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals. As a result, the West Indies and Australia were given a chance to play in the second group. England and Australia met in the first semi-final.
By four wickets, Australia triumphed. England had been knocked out for 93 runs earlier in the low-scoring contest. In response, Australia lost six wickets in order to reach their target.
In the second semifinal, the West Indies faced New Zealand. The West Indies were widely regarded as the strongest World Cup prospects, and they did not disappoint. The West Indies were victorious by five wickets. New Zealand scored 158 runs while playing first. In order to attain the objective, the West Indies had to lose five wickets. Greenidge scored 55 runs while Kalicharan scored 72.
The West Indies faced Australia in the final at Lord's, a historic venue. The contest was thrilling, and the West Indies were awarded the honour of becoming the first team to win the World Cup in this historic encounter.
The team, led by captain Clive Lloyd, performed admirably and won by 17 runs. Clive Lloyd's brilliant century (102) and Rohan Kanhai's 55 helped the West Indies to 291 for eight in 60 overs. Australia put up a valiant fight, but they were bowled out for 274 in 58.4 overs. A total of five Australian batsmen were dismissed.