On this day in 1975: First-ever men's cricket World Cup began
Jun 07, 2021
New Delhi [India], June 7 : It was on this day, 46 years ago, when the first-ever men's cricket World Cup began in England.
It was the first time that the men's World Cup was being played and the first match of the tournament was played between England and India at the Lord's Cricket Ground.
The 1975 World Cup was played in the 60-overs format. In the match between England and India, the hosts won the toss and opted to bat first.
Dennis Amiss played a knock of 137 off just 108 balls to take England's total to 334/4 in the allotted sixty overs. For India, Syed Abid Ali scalped two wickets.
The match is famous for Sunil Gavaskar's unbeaten knock of 36 runs from 174 balls.
Gavaskar remained unbeaten, but India failed to chase down the target and the side was restricted to 132/3 in the sixty overs. India ended up losing the match by 202 runs.
The 1975 World Cup was won by West Indies as the side defeated Australia in the finals of the tournament. The Clive Lloyd-led side also won the 1979 World Cup, but the side lost the finals of the 1983 edition after coming up short against India.
So far, 12 editions of the men's 50-over World Cup have been played, and Australia has managed to win the tournament maximum number of times (five).
West Indies and India have won the tournament two times each, while Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and England have all won the tournament once.
