West Indies captain Clive Lloyd (102) became the first batsman to score a century in a World Cup final, helping his side post 291-8. Australia were 233-9 before the last-wicket pair Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson added 41. The fightback ended when Thomson was run out. Viv Richards's fielding led to three of the five run-outs.
The West Indies rode on Richards's brilliant 138 not out to reach 286-9. England failed to force the pace and were bowled out for 194. Their last eight wickets fell for 11 runs, with paceman Joel Garner doing the damage with 5-38.
India, who had won just one match in the previous two editions, stunned the West Indies when they successfully defended a modest total of 183 by dismissing their opponents for 140. Indian medium-pacers Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, Balwinder Sandhu and Roger Binny all bowled well and captain Kapil Dev swung the match in his team's favour when he superbly caught Richards.
The match will be remembered for England captain Mike Gatting's ill-timed reverse-sweep that led to his dismissal at a crucial stage. Allan Border's Australians did not look safe after scoring 253-5 as England were 135-2 at one stage. Gatting (41) attempted a reverse-sweep off Border, an occasional left-arm spinner, only to give wicket-keeper Greg Dyer a simple catch before his side were bowled out for 246.
Pakistan captain Imran Khan's instructions to his team to fight like 'cornered tigers' produced the desired results as they won their last five matches, including the final against Graham Gooch's Englishmen. Imran led from the front, top-scoring with 72 to help his side post 249-6. England faltered against leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed (3-41) before being all out for 227.
Sri Lanka comfortably chased a 242-run target, playing as if they had to settle a score with Australia, who had refused to play their opening game in the island nation due to security reasons. Aravinda de Silva's superb 107 not out and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga's clever use of his spinners were the highlights of Sri Lanka's win.
Australian leg-spin wizard Shane Warne virtually reduced the final to a no-contest when he grabbed four wickets in what turned out to be his last World Cup appearance. Pakistan were bowled out for 132 before Adam Gilchrist smashed a brisk half-century in Australia's emphatic win.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting virtually batted India out of the match when he hammered an unbeaten 140 to help his side post a massive 359-2. Paceman Glenn McGrath took three wickets as India were restricted to 234 despite opener Virender Sehwag's 82.
Australia became the first team to win a third successive World Cup, thanks to Gilchrist's rapid 149, the highest in the final. Sri Lanka, chasing a rain-revised target of 269 in 36 overs, finished at 215-8 in semi-darkness despite bold half-centuries from Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara.
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