The mighty West Indies were always tipped to put it across India at Old Trafford. Skipper Clive Lloyd reposed supreme faith in his fearsome four-pronged pace attack comprising Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Robert and Joel Garner who carved out a habit of running through opposition batting line-ups with remarkable consistency.
And when Lloyd inserted India in damp conditions under poor light at Manchester, his bowlers showed why the move was a correct one, as they utilised the early moisture in the wicket and had India at a shaky wicket at 76 for 3 at one stage.
The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath were back in the pavilion, but in Yashpal Sharma India found someone who had answers to the searching questions posed by the West Indies bowlers. Yashpal essayed an innings which bordered on determination and pluck and provided the fulcrum around which the Indian innings revolved.
Spare a thought for Sandeep Patil who offered stout support to Yashpal but the latter’s presence in the middle assumed more importance after India lost Sandeep Patil and Kapil Dev in a space of 16 runs.
Crucially for India, he built the most important partnership of the innings – 73-run sixth-wicket stand with Roger Binny which made sure India posted a total in excess of 200.
Yashpal’s splendid defiance was ended by Holding. His innings of 89 came off 120 balls, spanned 133 minutes and was punctuated with nine boundaries. He was a key element in India posting their highest score (262 for 8 in 60 overs) in three World Cups.
“I was under pressure in the first match. I knew that if I fail then I would not get another chance in the coming matches. Even Dilip Vengsarkar sat out in the first match. There was tough competition to get into first eleven,” Yashpal once said.
A chase of 263 looked gettable for the famed West Indies batsmen but they never got any partnerships going and fell 34 runs short of the Indian target.
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