Toss India. Kapil Dev put England in, believing that the ball would swing early in the day. In the event it did not. The pitch, slow and providing turn, was more suited to spin bowling, thought to be India's strength but countered masterfully by Gooch (136 balls, eleven fours) and Gatting (62 balls, five fours). Adopting a policy of sweeping and pulling the two slow left-arm bowlers, they put on 117 in nineteen overs. And when Gooch, who survived a difficult running chance to Srikkanth when 82, was fourth out, caught on the midwicket boundary in the 43rd over - Gatting was out in the 41st - Lamb (29 balls) saw that another 51 runs were added.
India, with Vengsarkar unable to play because of a stomach upset, suffered an early setback when DeFreitas knocked over Gavaskar's off stump. It was the break England wanted, and they never let India take the initiative. Srikkanth (55 balls) and Sidhu (40 balls), both strokeplayers, did not manage a single boundary.
When Azharuddin and Pandit took 27 from Hemmings's first three overs, Gooch bowled three tidy overs and Foster struck again to remove Pandit. Kapil Dev fell victim to his own impetuosity, caught on the midwicket boundary immediately after Gatting had stationed himself there. For Hemmings, it was the start of a 34-ball spell in which he took four for 21, his next wicket being the important one of Azharuddin (74 balls, seven fours). With five wickets and ten overs in hand, India were looking for five runs an over, but with Azharuddin gone, panic and recklessness set in. Shastri remained a potential threat until the last, but Lamb's marvellous running catch, to put paid to Chetan Sharma's first-ball fling, was testimony to England's allround commitment.
Man of the Match G. A. Gooch.
