West Indies were the pre-tournament favorites in the 1979 World Cup, having defeated England in the inaugural edition of the mega event in 1975. (Image: Twitter/ICC)
Richards scored a brilliant 138 off 157 balls, while Garner took five wickets as West Indies bowled England out for 194 to win the final by 92 runs.
On this auspicious day, West Indies defeated home favorite England in 1979 to win their second consecutive World Cup under the captaincy of the legendary Clive Lloyd at the iconic Lord’s Stadium. West Indies were the pre-tournament favorites in the 1979 World Cup, having defeated them. England at the inaugural edition of the mega event in 1975.
West Indies started their campaign with a thumping nine-wicket win over India. His second match against Sri Lanka was called off. They beat New Zealand by 32 runs in their third group match.
In the second semi-final, West Indies thrashed Pakistan by 43 runs. However, they faced their toughest opposition in the final of the mega event in the form of England.
Batting first, West Indies did not have a great start as they lost their openers – Sir Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes – early in the innings and were left at 36 for 2. The West Indies ship sank further after losing its captain, Sir Clive Lloyd. and Alvin Kalicharan for individual scores of 14 and 4 respectively.
However, Sir Viv Richards kept them alive after scoring a brilliant 138 off 157 balls. Richards’ innings hit 11 fours and three sixes. Richards was also well supported by Collis Kings from the other end as he smashed a quick 86 off 66 balls.
King’s innings hit ten fours and three sixes. Both added 139 runs for the fifth wicket. After King departed, Richards took charge of the West Indies innings and guided them to a respectable total of 286 for the loss of nine wickets as the Windies batsmen combined to put on just five runs.
In reply, England were bundled out for 194 as West Indies won the match by 92 runs. Joel Garner did a great job with the ball for West Indies. He took five wickets and conceded 38 runs in 11 overs.
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