Richards blitzkrieg in 1979 World Cup Final

It is a fact that every player playing any sport for their country is under pressure, especially while competing in tournaments like World Cups and Olympics. The pressure gets all the more heightened in crunch situations when a team's back is against the wall and in desperate need of a hero to bail them out. Vivian Richards was the hero for the West Indies in the final of the 1979 Prudential World Cup against England and gave the Carribeans their second consecutive WC title.

The match played at Lords saw the hosts winning the toss and inserting the West Indies in overcast conditions. Moreover, with England's premier paceman Bob Willis sidelined due to an injury the West Indies had an advantage of scoring big.  Ian Botham, Mike Hendrick and Chris Old immediately found assistance in the pitch and with one and a half hours West Indies were struggling at 99 for four. 

Then began the resurrection with Viv Richards and Collis King going hammer and tongs  mixed with cautious stroke play. However, in contrast Richards dropped anchor in a well thought out game plan and allowed King to launch into the English bowlers. Richards got into a zone of his own, timing every ball with incredible precision and soon effortlessly began to toy with the bowlers, even the frontline ones. He cut, pulled, glanced and drove with grace, and before long, West Indies had wriggled themselves out from a spot of bother. His unbeaten knock of 138 (3 sixes and eleven fours) ensured that the West Indies reached a comfortable score of 286/9 in 60 overs, though King's herculean innings of 86 runs from 66 balls was also noteworthy.

However, despite forging a good opening partnership between England captain Mike Brearley and Boycott, England were done in by the pace and bounce of the 6ft 8inch frame of Joel Garner who single-handedly demolished the English batting attack. Richards was named the Man of the match in the game.

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Abhishek