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The Cricket World Cup was played with 50 overs per side for the first time in:
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Answer: Option C — 1987
Detailed Solution
The 1987 Cricket World Cup, held in India and Pakistan, was the first World Cup in which matches were played over 50 overs per side. The first three World Cups (1975, 1979 and 1983), held in England, had 60 overs per side.
Why the change?
Daylight hours in the Indian subcontinent are shorter than in an English summer, so 60-over matches could not be completed in a day. The matches were therefore reduced to 50 overs per side, and this became the standard ODI format.
Key facts about the 1987 World Cup:
- It was officially called the Reliance World Cup (sponsored by Reliance Industries).
- It was the first World Cup held outside England.
- Eight teams took part.
- The final was played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on 8 November 1987.
- Australia, captained by Allan Border, defeated England by 7 runs to win its first World Cup.
- India, the defending champions, lost to England in the semi-final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
- India's Chetan Sharma took the first hat-trick in World Cup history, against New Zealand at Nagpur.
- Matches were played in white clothing with red balls; coloured clothing and white balls arrived in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Other World Cup milestones:
- 1975: first World Cup (England), won by the West Indies.
- 1983: India's first title (England).
- 1992: first World Cup with coloured clothing, white balls and day-night matches; won by Pakistan.
- 1996: co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; won by Sri Lanka.
- 2011: co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; won by India.
- 2023: hosted by India alone; won by Australia (its sixth title).
Why not the other options?
- ✗1983 was played with 60 overs per side in England.
- ✗1992 introduced coloured clothing and white balls.
- ✗1975 was the first World Cup, with 60 overs per side.
Quick tip
Remember: First 50-over World Cup = 1987 (India and Pakistan, Reliance Cup, Australia won at Eden Gardens); 1975-1983 = 60 overs; first hat-trick = Chetan Sharma (1987).
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.