World Cup flashback: King Vivian Richards rules Karachi in 1987

Vivian Richards scored 181 against Sri Lanka in Karachi

If cricket fans thought Kapil Dev's 175 (v Zimbabwe in 1983) would never be surpassed, they reckoned without Vivian Richards's (181) awesome ability. The great Antiguan pounced on the opportunity to go past Kapil Dev in the 1987 World Cup game against Sri Lanka at Karachi.

A narrow loss to England hurt Richards and he didn't need too many overs to get his eye in before destroying the Sri Lankan bowlers in tandem with Desmond Haynes (105). After reaching 50 in 62 balls, he only consumed 35 balls for his next fifty. And guess how many balls Richards faced to get from 100 to 150? Only 15! His six tally would have reached eight had Roshan Mahanama not taken an acrobatic catch to dismiss him deep on the off-side. West Indies' 360-4 was too much of an ask for the hapless Lankans, who were restricted to 169 for four as Richards's outfit won by 191 runs.

Figured out
Krishnamachari Srikkanth holds the distinction of being India's top-scorer in the 1983 final against West Indies. His 38 was an audacious innings which surprised the Caribbean pace attack comprising Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding. But Srikkanth, who also featured in the 1987 and 1992 World Cups, is also the holder of most ducks by an Indian in World Cup cricket - 4 in 23 matches.

Did you know?
The Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be a special venue for Mohammed Azharuddin. He made his Test debut there against England in 1984-85 and scored the first of his three successive hundreds. And when he was on the verge of getting the axe in 1992-93, he came up with a 182 against the same opponents in a series which India whitewashed England. But when it came to the 1996 World Cup semi-final against eventual champions Sri Lanka, Azharuddin walked back to the dressing room with a duck against his name - tapping one back to off-spinner Kumar Dharmasena.

Man to watch
Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja… now here's a name that would not automatically fit into the one-day scheme of things in Australian cricket. But his fine form in India where he scored two centuries in Australia's 3-2 series win over the World No. 2 team, makes him an automatic choice in the four-time champions' World Cup squad. The attractive batsman has all shots in the book and can be a very steadying influence, but to play big shots in English conditions will call for a nice mix of caution and aggression. If he can do that, Australia will do better than their critics believe they can.

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