Sri Lanka in the 1979 Cricket World Cup

Sri Lanka contested in the 1979 Cricket World Cup in Group B. The other teams in this group were India, New Zealand and West Indies. Canada, Australia, Pakistan and England formed Group A. Every team played against the remaining 3 teams once in the group matches and depending upon the points won by the teams they were chosen for the semi finals. The 1979 Cricket World Cup was lifted by West Indies under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd and this was their second World Cup triumph.

Group match against New Zealand

On 9th June 1979, Sri Lanka played its first group match against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The umpires for this match were Ken Palmer and Lloyd Budd. Sri Lanka batted first and in 56.5 overs was all out for 189. Brian McKechnie (New Zealand) bowled 10.5 overs, conceded 25 runs and took 3 wickets while Anura Tennekoon (Sri Lanka) scored 59 runs. New Zealand reached their target in 47.4 overs when they scored 190 runs for the loss of 1 batsman. Glenn Turner (New Zealand) hit 83 runs in 143 deliveries. Ajit de Silva (Sri Lanka) gave away 39 runs and took 1 wicket. New Zealand won this match by 9 wickets and was awarded 4 points.

Group match against West Indies

The venue for the group match between Sri Lanka and West Indies on 13th June 1979 was the Oval in London. In this match, both the reserve days were used but due to heavy rainfall, play was not possible. So, both the teams were given 2 points each.

Group match against India

At Old Trafford in Manchester, India and Sri Lanka participated in a group match on 18th June 1979. As per the original schedule, this match was to be played on 16th June 1979 however this was not possible due to heavy rains and hence the reserve day was utilized. The umpires for this match were Alan Whitehead and Ken Palmer. Sri Lanka batted for all the 60 overs and for a loss of 5 wickets piled up 238 runs. Sunil Wettimuny (Sri Lanka) could score 67 runs in 120 balls. From the Indian side, Mohinder Amarnath bowled 12 overs in which he took 3 wickets and gave away 40 runs. India, batting second, was all out for 191 in 54.1 overs. Dilip Vengsarkar (India) faced 57 deliveries and managed 36 runs. 3 wickets were taken by Somachandra de Silva (Sri Lanka) in 11 overs while conceding 29 runs. Sri Lanka won the match by 47 runs and thus 4 points were added to Sri Lanka’s point tally.

Thus, Sri Lanka played 3 matches, won one match, lost one match and there was no result in one match. Consequently, it accrued 6 points and had a run rate of 3.56. In Group B, New Zealand had 8 points and West Indies had 10. These two teams progressed to the semi finals and Sri Lanka had to exit from the World Cup.