The 1975 Cricket World Cup was also called as the Prudential Cup and was contested in England from 7th June 1975 to 21st June 1975. In every match, each team was allotted 60 overs to bat and the players were in traditional white clothing and used red balls. The 8 nations which competed in this championship were divided into 2 groups – A and B. India was in Group A along with England, New Zealand and East Africa. The captain of the Indian team was S. Venkataraghavan. When this tournament began, the West Indies team was the favorite to win this title and they did not disappoint their supporters by winning the Cup.

Group match against England

The first group match of India was against England on 7th June 1975 at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. The umpires for this match were JG Langridge and DJ Constant. England won the toss and decided to bat. In 60 overs, the team scored 334 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Dennis Amiss scored 137, Keith Fletcher scored 68, Chris Old was unbeaten on 51 and Mike Denness was unbeaten on 37. Syed Abid Ali took 2 wickets for 58 runs in 12 overs. In reply, India scored 132 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 60 overs. Gundappa Vishwanath scored 37 while Sunil Gavaskar was unbeaten on 36. Peter Lever took 1 wicket for 16 runs in 10 overs. Dennis Amiss was awarded the Man of the Match. England won this match by 202 runs.

Group match against East Africa

The second group match of India was against East Africa on 11th June 1975 at Headingly Stadium in Leeds. The umpires of this match were A Jepson and HD Bird. East Africa won the toss and decided to bat. At one stage, East Africa had lost 5 wickets for 56 runs. In 55.3 overs, East Africa were all out for 120. Jawahir Shah scored 37 runs. Bishen Singh Bedi bowled 12 overs, out of which 8 were maidens and he conceded 6 runs while taking 1 wicket. Madan Lal took 3 wickets for 15 runs in 9.3 overs. India scored 123 runs for no loss of wickets in 29.5 overs. Sunil Gavaskar was unbeaten on 65 while Farokh Engineer was unbeaten on 54. The Man of the Match was Farokh Engineer. India won the match by 10 wickets.

Group match against New Zealand

The third group match of India was against New Zealand on 14th June 1975 at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. The umpires of this match were AE Fagg and WL Budd. India won the toss and decided to bat. In 60 overs, India was all out for 230. Syed Abid Ali scored 70 while Anshuman Gaekwad scored 37. Brian McKechnie took 3 wickets for 49 runs. In reply, New Zealand scored 233 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 58.5 overs. Glenn Turner was unbeaten on 114 while Brian Hastings scored 34. Syed Abid Ali took 2 wickets for 35 runs in 12 overs. Glenn Turner was awarded the Man of the Match. New Zealand won this match by 4 wickets.

Thus, India won 1 match and lost 2 matches and had 4 points. It was at the No. 3 position in Group A and did not qualify for the semi-final and hence had to exit from the tournament.