That’s an incredible and memorable match in the history of the Cricket World Cup. England vs. India 2nd Semi Final of World Cup 1987 at Bombay on November 6. India was firm favorites once Pakistan lost the semis against Australia in Lahore. That Indian 1987 team didn’t carry the baggage of losing big games as yet. Curator Arjun may not recall today how many wire brushes were used on the pitch to help spinners Ravi Shastri and Maninder Singh in the semi-final. But Micky Stewart and Mike Gatting had the program ready to counter the ploy.
Graham Gooch, the No. 1 batsman on the England score sheet, was picked for the job. The ‘Man of the Match’ in the preceding matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, Gooch, was only going through the drill of the sweep and paddle shot at the nets for two days. England’s “think tank” has been looking for left-arm local club bowlers.
Graham Gooch discovered many chinks in India’s armor. Ravi Shastri and Maninder Singh kept pegging away on the leg stump in the belief that Gooch would top-edge at some point. Unfortunately for the Indians, there was never an airy shot. Graham Gooch seemed to have gained perfection by rolling his wrists to keep the ball down after the sweeping motion.
The sweep shots kept flowing, and for some time, India did not deem it fit to fortify the area to check the fours. Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting, with a 117-run partnership for the third wicket, carried England to a fighting total. Gooch’s adept handling of Shastri and Maninder was striking.
In England’s total of 67 from 19 overs, Gooch’s tally was 50, and when he got to his fifth one-day hundred, England’s total stood at 157 after 36 overs. In effect, the sweeping exercise of Gooch and Mike Gatting put England in the final. Graham Gooch won the match with a score of 115 and was named “Man of the Match” for the third time in succession.
Graham Gooch’s ploy stunned India. Only a day before Indian Airlines closed reservations for Calcutta-bound flights, which had been overbooked, India’s presence in the final. The defeat left a trail of disenchantment, leading to the cancellation of bookings to Calcutta (now Kolkata). One Airbus flight did not take off, and another was half-empty!
The bait was laid, but the quarry made a meal of it. The Indians reckoned that they could get Graham Gooch on the sweep. They got him, all right, but only after the England opener had swept his way to 115.
