Wisden
Winner: Pakistan

Nehru Cup, 1989-90

Staged to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India after Independence, and sponsored by the Madras Rubber Foundry, the MRF World Series for the Jawaharlal Nehru Cup brought together all of the Test-playing countries except New Zealand. The tournament also had a secondary purpose in attracting the attention of the Indian population to Mr Ranjiv Gandhi, the current Prime Minister and grandson of Nehru, in the run-up to the country's elections.

The tournament's true significance, however, is perhaps best gauged by the way in which the various competing countries arrived in India for it. When England and Sri Lanka played the opening match, in Delhi before a crowd of less than 1,000, the hosts, India, were playing Pakistan in a different tournament in Sharjah. Indeed, India and Pakistan did not arrive in India until five days later. There had been a time when it seemed that neither Australia nor West Indies would attend, and it was to accommodate them that the tournament was brought forward, so clashing with the Champions Trophy in Sharjah. West Indies' first priority after Sharjah was an indoor exhibition match in Toronto, Canada, on November 6.

Only England and Sri Lanka could be said to have found any value, other than prizemoney, in yet another of one-day competition. For the latter it provided the much-needed stimulus of international competition, while it gave England an opportunity to begin preparations for their forthcoming tour of the West Indies. For Pakistan, the Nehru Cup brought further success to add to their victory in the Champions Trophy. Their defeat of West Indies in the final at Calcutta was their ninth win in eleven one-day internationals, played in the space of nineteen days. But this achievement, in addition to winning the large trophy, they increased their winnings by $US40,000 (£22,850). West Indies received $US25,000 (£14,285) as runners-up, while the losing semi-finalists, England and India, won $US15,000 (£8,570) each. Imran Khan, Pakistan's captain, was the Man of the Series.

Match reports for

1st Match: England v Sri Lanka at Delhi, Oct 15, 1989
Report | Scorecard

2nd Match: Australia v England at Hyderabad (Deccan), Oct 19, 1989
Report | Scorecard

3rd Match: Sri Lanka v West Indies at Rajkot, Oct 19, 1989
Report | Scorecard

4th Match: Australia v West Indies at Chennai, Oct 21, 1989
Report | Scorecard

5th Match: England v Pakistan at Cuttack, Oct 22, 1989
Report | Scorecard

6th Match: India v Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad, Oct 22, 1989
Report | Scorecard

7th Match: Australia v Pakistan at Brabourne, Oct 23, 1989
Report | Scorecard

8th Match: India v West Indies at Delhi, Oct 23, 1989
Report | Scorecard

9th Match: India v England at Kanpur, Oct 25, 1989
Report | Scorecard

10th Match: Pakistan v West Indies at Jalandhar, Oct 25, 1989
Report | Scorecard

11th Match: Australia v Sri Lanka at Margao, Oct 25, 1989
Report | Scorecard

12th Match: England v West Indies at Gwalior, Oct 27, 1989
Report | Scorecard

13th Match: India v Australia at Bengaluru, Oct 27, 1989
Report | Scorecard

14th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Lucknow, Oct 27, 1989
Report | Scorecard

15th Match: India v Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Oct 28, 1989
Report | Scorecard

1st Semi-Final: England v Pakistan at Nagpur, Oct 30, 1989
Report | Scorecard

2nd Semi-Final: India v West Indies at Wankhede, Oct 30, 1989
Report | Scorecard

Final: Pakistan v West Indies at Eden Gardens, Nov 1, 1989
Report | Scorecard

© John Wisden & Co