Nothing catches on faster than speed. Take one-day cricket for instance. The shorter, sharper version of the five-day game, started in 1971, was dismissed as spurious by puritans but today is as popular as politics-at least in the subcontinent. The sheer volume of entertainment crunched into a day's play-boundaries, wickets, athleticism and suspense-has won converts by the millions. Big money has not been slow in coming. Commercially, Test cricket is now the poor cousin of the game.

After the Kerry Packer pyjama cricket revolution in the late 1970s, the credit for stealing the public spotlight away from the five-day game must go the World Cups. Cricketers have been the major beneficiaries: glory gained in the World Cup has a way of staying longer in public memory. Despite thousands of one-day internationals, people still talk of Clive Lloyd's innings against Australia in 1975, Kapil Dev's heroics at Tunbridge Wells in 1983, Dipak Patel opening the bowling in 1992 and Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana making merry in the first 15 overs in the 1996 event. The World Cup is the stage where the best shine.

The first two competitions-in 1975 and 1979-were won by the power players from the West Indies, at the time the strongest team in world cricket. New cricketing standards were set along the way: Joel Garner's miserly bowling and Lloyd's hitting found fresh admirers. But it was with the 1983 World Cup that the hallmark of the modern game-the Big Upset-emerged. On any given day, any given team could upset favourites. Countries struggling to make a mark in Test cricket-India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan-learnt to dream. After 1983, the Cups of 1987, 1992 and 1996 too went the way of the underdogs. Australia may be the favourites for this year's World Cup but, surely, the memory and prospect of upsets remain alive. In the World Cup, the underdogs never give up dreaming.

In walked the hero of the year-and the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century-Kapil Dev, and played the innings he had always threatened to play. His 175 not out set the tone for an Indian summer. (BBC was on strike that day and no television recording was made of Dev's innings.) Surprises refused to cease after that. A 118-run win over Australia took the Indians into the semi-final. On a favourable Old Trafford wicket-it played low and slow-India beat England in the semis. Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil hit half-centuries.

Riding on the back of the umpteen allrounders-Dev, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad-India found itself up against the Windies at Lord's in the final. The long march to cricket's Mecca notwithstanding, nobody was giving India a chance. Against the might of Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding, India were shot out for 183-the unclassifiable Krishnamachari Srikkanth making a quick 38. With the Windies cruising at 57 for two, most eyes were already having a vision of Clive Lloyd holding aloft his third consecutive Prudential World Cup trophy on the Lord's balcony. Then Dev ran 20 yards to catch Viv Richards' mistimed hook from back over his head off Lal and India was rejuvenated. When man-of-the-match Amarnath trapped last man Holding LBW, the West Indies were still 43 runs behind. India had arrived. With even Sunil Valson, the cricketer who didn't get to play a single match in the tournament.

The Indian success was a great advertisement for team spirit. With no one player making an outstanding contribution, victory belonged to all. Balwinder Singh Sandhu earned his proverbial 15 minutes of fame with the in-swinger that deceived Gordon Greenidge. Sharma top-scored for India in a couple of matches.

Received back home with utter joy, the victory was the take-off point for cricket in India. Players became stars. The triumph extended the realm of the possible. Indian cricket was never the same after that summer to remember. An upset to kick off all upsets.

FINAL: June 25, Lord's, London
INDIA: 183 all out, 54.4 overs
WEST INDIES: 140 all out, 52 overs
India won by 43 runs
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mohinder Amarnath

SEMIFINALS:
India beat England by 6 wickets at Old Trafford
West Indies beat Pakistan by 8 wickets at The Oval

It is hard to believe today but Australia were the underdogs at the 1987 World Cup. The West Indies were the firm favourites. Allan Border had been captaining a lacklustre side, the era of the Chappell brothers, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, well and truly over. But in the first World Cup outside England, the combination of bits-and-pieces players that worked for India in 1983 proved its potency once again. David Boon, Dean Jones, Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid were in that team and went on to serve Australia for years to come. Also in the XI was Steve Waugh, a 22-year-old who made quite a name for his bowling skills at the death. Starting with a shock one-run win over India, Australia won its semi-final by beating Pakistan by 18 runs in Lahore. The other semi-final between England and India is best remembered for Graham Gooch's expert handling of the Indian spinners-he swept everything in sight on the way to his century.

India started badly-Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed early in his last one-dayer-and finished poorly with Kapil Dev failing to restrain himself and hitting Eddie Hemmings straight to Mike Gatting at deep midwicket. The final at Eden Gardens, Calcutta, was going England's way until captain Gatting played the most forgettable of reverse sweeps in history. Australia went on to win by seven runs. Down and under till they came to the subcontinent, the World Cup win proved decisive for Australian cricket. The team hasn't slipped since.

FINAL: November 8, Eden Gardens, Calcutta
AUSTRALIA: 253 for 5 wickets, 50 overs
ENGLAND: 246 for 8 wickets, 50 overs
Australia won by 7 runs
MAN OF THE MATCH: David Boon

SEMIFINALS:
Australia beat Pakistan by 18 runs at Lahore
England beat India by 35 runs at Bombay

The mercurial Pakistanis had to get it right some time. Fittingly, they had Imran Khan, leader extraordinaire, at the helm in the moment of their biggest triumph. On the brink of relegation earlier in the competition-they lost a typically high-tension match to India-Pakistan came from behind to beat the Kiwis in the semis. Imran's new find, the languid Inzamam-ul-Haq, made an unrestrained 60 off 37 balls. Batting first in the final against England, the steadiness of Imran and crisis man Javed Miandad, and the strong-arm tactics of Haq and Wasim Akram made sure Pakistan reached a safe total. England retained a chance till late in the match before two ferocious Akram in-swingers accounted for Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis. The Pakistanis had finally delivered when it was most needed. The only hiccup in that win was Imran's post-match speech where he, Hamlet-like, harped on his mother's memory and forgot to mention the most important ingredient of Pakistan's win-his teammates.

FINAL: March 25, MCG, Melbourne
PAKISTAN: 249 for 6 wickets, 50 overs
ENGLAND: 227 all out, 49.2 overs
Pakistan won by 22 runs
Man of THE MATCH: Wasim Akram

SEMIFINALS:
Pakistan beat New Zealand by 4 wickets
England beat South Africa by 20 runs
Man of the series: Martin Crowe

One-day cricket once again proved itself amenable to upsets of the highest order. Going into the Cup, Sri Lanka looked as harmless as the Indians had at the start of the 1983 event. But under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga, a side ordinary on paper proved too hot to handle for the world of cricket. What caught the eye was the explosive hitting of Sri Lankan openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana. The astute Ranatunga made his slow bowlers-Mutthiah Muralitharan, Kumara Dharmasena, Jayasuriya and Aravinda De Silva-bowl 37 overs in the Lahore final against Australia. Fittingly, Ranatunga and De Silva (107 not out) were at the crease when victory was sealed with seven wickets in hand. Man-of-the-tournament Jayasuriya lit most of the fireworks in 1995-96 but Ranatunga's Mike Brearley impersonation probably made the bigger difference. He somehow made the Asanka Gurusinghes and Dharmasenas count for more than the Mark Taylors and Shane Warnes. The making of Sri Lanka at the Wills World Cup-they had won only four matches in the previous five World Cups-reinforced one-day cricket's reputation as the most underdog-friendly of games.

FINAL: March 17, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
AUSTRALIA: 241 for 7 wickets, 50 overs
SRI LANKA: 245 for 3 wickets, 46.2 overs
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
Man of THE MATCH: Aravinda de Silva

SEMIFINALS:
Sri Lanka beat India on run rate
Australia beat the West Indies by 5 runs
Man of the Series: Sanath Jayasuriya