India (Ki)win, K(u)a(pi)lify for final

The New Zealanders made a couple of changes to the eleven that last played India – the Johns (Wright and Bracewell) made way for Bruce Blair and Martin Snedden. The Indians made a couple of changes to their playing eleven as well – Dilip Vengsarkar and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan were replaced by Mohinder Amarnath and Raju Kulkarni.

Jeremy Coney, the Kiwi captain, won the toss, putting India in. Sunil Gavaskar, who faced three balls, scored a run. He was caught by Ervin McSweeney. Richard Hadlee broke the one-run stand.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth scored 22. His 44-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. Snedden trapped him leg before wicket, breaking the 51-run stand. Amarnath scored 24. His 50-ball innings included three boundaries. He was caught by McSweeney. Stu Gillespie broke the third-wicket stand, which was worth four.

Mohammad Azharuddin faced four balls, scoring three. He was caught by McSweeney. Martin Crowe broke the eight-run partnership. Ravi Shastri scored 23. His 46-ball innings included four boundaries. Snedden broke the fifth-wicket partnership, which was worth 55.

Dev, India’s skipper, faced four balls, scored a Kapil. Gillespie trapped him leg before wicket, breaking the eight-run partnership. The seventh-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Ashok Malhotra scored 39. His 72-ball innings included four boundaries and a six. He was caught by Snedden off the bowling of Gillespie.

Chetan, the player of the (Shar)match, scored 38. His 37-ball innings included three boundaries and a six. He was unbeaten. Roger Binny scored 24. His 25-ball innings included three boundaries. Hadlee trapped him leg before wicket, breaking the 53-run partnership.

Kulkarni scored nine. His 11-ball innings included a boundary. He was caught by Gillespie. Chatfield broke the 19-run stand. Kiran More, who faced a couple of balls, scored a run. He was unbeaten.

The Kiwis conceded 16 extras. India, whose innings was reduced to 48 overs, scored 202 for the loss of nine wickets. Chatfield, who bowled nine overs, conceded 43. He picked up a wicket, as did Martin Crowe, who bowled 10 overs, including a couple of maidens. He conceded 35.

Snedden bowled 10 overs, conceding 46. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Hadlee, who bowled 10 overs, including five maidens. He conceded 17. Gillespie bowled nine overs, conceding 54. He picked up three scalps.

New Zealand’s target was revised – they had to score 190 off 45 overs. Jeff Crowe, who faced 17 balls, scored three. He was caught by Kulkarni. Needless to say, Binny was in seventh heaven. Martin Crowe, whose 21-ball innings included a boundary, scored 10. He was caught by Binny, who broke the 20-run stand.

Bruce Edgar scored 26. His 54-ball innings included three boundaries. He was caught by More. Shastri broke the 21-run stand. John Reid scored 37. His 63-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. Kulkarni broke the fourth-wicket partnership, which was worth 54.

Hadlee, who faced nine balls, scored five. He was caught by Azharuddin. Sharma broke the 11-run stand. Coney scored 37. His 61-ball innings included a boundary. He was caught by Shastri. Dev broke the 22-run stand. The seventh-wicket pair didn’t get off the mark. Dev dismissed McSweeney, who faced a ball, for a blob.

Snedden, who faced four balls, scored just a run. He was caught by Binny. Dev broke the eighth-wicket partnership, which was worth a dozen. Blair scored 19. His 24-ball innings included a couple of boundaries. He was caught by Srikkanth. Binny broke the 16-run partnership.

Gillespie, whose 21-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 15. He was unbeaten, as was Chatfield, who faced two balls. He didn’t open his account. India conceded 15 extras. New Zealand scored 168 for the loss of nine wickets off 45 overs, losing by 22 runs.

Each of the bowlers bowled nine overs apiece. Kulkarni, Sharma (whose spell included a maiden) and Shastri picked up a wicket each. Kulkarni conceded 40, Sharma conceded 35 and Shastri conceded 33. Dev's and Binny's spells included a maiden each. They conceded 26, conceding three scalps apiece.

India advanced to the final. The North Tasmania Cricket Association Ground in Launceston has never hosted another One-day International since.