World Cup History: 4 finals played at Lord's
Lord's cricket stadium in London will host the final of the 2019 World Cup between the hosts England and New Zealand. It will be the fifth time that Lord's will be hosting a final in the World Cup. The other four occasions were in the years 1975,1979, 1983 and 1999.
The remaining World Cup finals have been hosted by Eden Gardens in 1987, Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1992 and 2015, Gaddafi Stadium in 1996, Wanderers in 2003, Kensington Oval in 2007 and Wankhede Stadium in 2011.
After a gap of almost 20 years, the 'home of cricket' will once again host a World Cup final. In the previous 4 finals at the iconic venue, 3 games have been won by the team batting first and Australia won the World Cup in the year 1999 when they chased down the target set by Pakistan.
Here is a look at the four previous finals hosted by Lord's cricket ground and how the teams fared in the finals:
1975 - West Indies win the maiden World Cup trophy
21st June, 1975 was the day when the cricket world saw West Indies being crowned as the first-ever world champions. The final was played at Lord's.
Despite Gary Gilmour's 5 wickets in the final, West Indies scored 291 runs in their 60 overs. Clive Lloyd played a captain's knock and scored an attacking 102 of just 85 balls. The innings by the skipper set the tone for the rest of the innings and West Indies set a competitive target of 292.
Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals but skipper Ian Chappell scored a patient 62 before getting run-out. After that, Australia kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 233-9. However, the last wicket partnership between Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee looked to guide Australia home. The duo added 41 before Thomson was run-out.
West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs and were crowned as world champions. Lord's lived up to its expectations and played host to a thrilling World Cup final.
Also read – World cup most wickets