India Cricket Team in the 1987 Cricket World Cup

India entered the 1987 Cricket World Cup as defending champions, topped Group A with five wins from six matches, and then lost the semi-final to England by 35 runs at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 5 November 1987. Kapil Dev captained the side, and the campaign ended with England scoring 254 for 6 and India bowled out for 219 in 45.3 overs. It was the first World Cup played outside England and the first played with 50 overs per side.

India’s 1987 World Cup Squad

Player	Role
Kapil Dev (captain)	Fast-bowling all-rounder
Sunil Gavaskar	Opening batter
Kris Srikkanth	Opening batter
Navjot Sidhu	Opening batter
Dilip Vengsarkar	Middle-order batter
Mohammad Azharuddin	Middle-order batter
Ravi Shastri	All-rounder, left-arm spin
Roger Binny	Medium-pace bowler
Manoj Prabhakar	Medium-pace bowler
Chetan Sharma	Fast bowler
Maninder Singh	Left-arm spinner
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan	Leg-spin bowler
Kiran More	Wicketkeeper
Chandrakant Pandit	Wicketkeeper and batter

The squad blended the core of the 1983 title-winning team with new batting power. Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Srikkanth, Shastri and Binny had all been part of the 1983 triumph, while Sidhu and Azharuddin represented the next generation. The bowling attack mixed Kapil’s pace, Prabhakar and Chetan Sharma’s seam bowling, and the spin of Maninder Singh, Shastri and Sivaramakrishnan. Kiran More was the first-choice wicketkeeper, with Pandit as cover.

India’s Group Stage Results in the 1987 World Cup

India played in Group A alongside Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, with each team playing the others twice. India won five of their six group matches and finished top of the group on run rate, level on points with Australia. Their only defeat was a one-run loss to Australia in the opening match.

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result
9 October 1987	Australia	Chennai	Lost by 1 run (Australia 270 for 6, India 269)
14 October 1987	New Zealand	Bengaluru	Won by 16 runs (India 252 for 7, New Zealand 236 for 8)
17 October 1987	Zimbabwe	Mumbai	Won by 8 wickets (Zimbabwe 135, India 136 for 2)
22 October 1987	Australia	Delhi	Won by 56 runs (India 289 for 6, Australia 233)
26 October 1987	Zimbabwe	Ahmedabad	Won by 7 wickets (Zimbabwe 191 for 7, India 194 for 3)
31 October 1987	New Zealand	Nagpur	Won by 9 wickets (New Zealand 221 for 9, India 222 for 1)

The opening match against Australia at Chennai became one of the most famous one-run finishes in World Cup history. Geoff Marsh scored 110 for Australia, and India, chasing 271, were cruising at 207 for 2 before a middle-order collapse and a flurry of run-outs left them one run short. Navjot Sidhu scored 73 off 79 balls in that match, the first of his four fifties in the tournament.

India responded by winning five matches in a row. At Bengaluru, Sidhu scored 75 and Kapil Dev smashed an unbeaten 72 off 58 balls to lift India from 21 for 3 to 252 for 7, and India beat New Zealand by 16 runs. At Mumbai, Manoj Prabhakar took 4 for 19 as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 135. At Delhi, India avenged the Chennai defeat by beating Australia by 56 runs, with Dilip Vengsarkar scoring 63 and Azharuddin taking 3 for 19. At Ahmedabad, Sidhu made 55 in a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe.

The final group match at Nagpur was the most emphatic of all. Chetan Sharma took the first hat-trick in World Cup history, and New Zealand were held to 221 for 9. India needed to chase the target inside 42.2 overs to top the group and avoid a semi-final against Pakistan in Lahore, and Sunil Gavaskar’s unbeaten 103 off 88 balls got them home in just 32.1 overs, with nine wickets in hand.

The Semi-Final: India vs England at Wankhede Stadium

India’s reward for topping the group was a home semi-final against England at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Kapil Dev won the toss and chose to field, a decision that backfired as Graham Gooch played one of the great World Cup innings.

Detail	Semi-Final, 5 November 1987
Venue	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
England	254 for 6 (50 overs)
India	219 all out (45.3 overs)
Result	England won by 35 runs
Top scorer, England	Graham Gooch 115 off 136 balls
Top scorer, India	Mohammad Azharuddin 64
Best bowling, India	Maninder Singh 3 for 54
Best bowling, England	Eddie Hemmings 4 wickets
Player of the match	Graham Gooch

Gooch, who had prepared specifically to sweep India’s left-arm spinners, scored 115 and shared a 117-run partnership with captain Mike Gatting, who made 56. Maninder Singh dismissed both, but Allan Lamb’s unbeaten 32 took England to 254 for 6. India’s chase started badly when Gavaskar was bowled for 4, and although Azharuddin scored 64 and India reached 204 for 5, the last five wickets fell for just 15 runs. Off-spinner Eddie Hemmings took four wickets and Neil Foster three as India were bowled out for 219, ending their title defence in front of a stunned home crowd.

Navjot Sidhu’s Breakthrough Tournament

The brightest batting discovery of India’s campaign was Navjot Sidhu. After a difficult start to his international career, Sidhu scored four fifties in the five World Cup matches in which he batted: 73 against Australia at Chennai, 75 against New Zealand at Bengaluru, 51 against Australia at Delhi and 55 against Zimbabwe at Ahmedabad. He hit ten sixes in the tournament, the most by any player, and his aggressive strokeplay gave India fast starts throughout the group stage.

Sidhu’s form was all the more valuable because India’s top order had been under pressure. His 73 in the opening match nearly won a game India eventually lost by one run, and his 75 at Bengaluru rescued India from 21 for 3 alongside Kapil Dev’s counter-attack. The semi-final was the one match in which he could not repeat the feat, dismissed for 22 as England’s bowlers kept India under pressure throughout the chase.

Sunil Gavaskar’s Farewell World Cup

The 1987 World Cup was Sunil Gavaskar’s last. The legendary opener, who had been part of the 1983 triumph, retired from all cricket after the tournament. His farewell was marked by the only one-day international century of his career: an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls against New Zealand at Nagpur, an innings that secured top spot in the group for India.

Gavaskar’s final World Cup innings was a disappointment, bowled by Phil DeFreitas for 4 in the semi-final. But his century at Nagpur remains one of the most celebrated innings of the 1987 tournament, and it was fitting that his only ODI hundred came in his last World Cup, on home soil, in a match India had to win quickly to control their semi-final draw.

Chetan Sharma’s Hat-Trick and the Tournament Legacy

Chetan Sharma etched his name into World Cup history at Nagpur by becoming the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the tournament. He dismissed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield with the last three balls of the 42nd over, finishing with 3 for 51 as New Zealand collapsed to 221 for 9. It was also the first hat-trick by an Indian bowler in one-day internationals.

The 1987 tournament as a whole was a landmark. It was the first World Cup staged outside England, the first hosted jointly by two countries, and the first played at 50 overs per side instead of 60. It proved that the World Cup could thrive on the subcontinent, with packed crowds in India and Pakistan, and it set the pattern for every edition that followed. For India, the semi-final defeat began a long wait: they would not reach another World Cup semi-final until 1996. The next edition after 1987 did not come until 1992, which is why there was no World Cup in 1991. Australia, who beat Pakistan in the other semi-final and then England in the final at Eden Gardens, are covered in the main 1987 Cricket World Cup overview.

Who captained India in the 1987 World Cup?

Kapil Dev captained defending champions India in the 1987 Cricket World Cup.

Where did India lose in the 1987 World Cup?

India lost to England by 35 runs in the semi-final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on 5 November 1987.

How did India perform in the group stage in 1987?

India won five of their six group matches and topped Group A on run rate, losing only to Australia by one run in Chennai.

Who scored a century for India in the 1987 World Cup?

Sunil Gavaskar scored India’s only century of the tournament, an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls against New Zealand at Nagpur. It was the only ODI century of his career.

Who took the first hat-trick in World Cup history?

Chetan Sharma of India took the first hat-trick in World Cup history against New Zealand at Nagpur, dismissing Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield with consecutive balls.