Having won a couple of close games, their first against India by one run in Chennai and against their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by three runs, Australia had plenty going for them ahead of their second game against hosts India during the 1987 World Cup.
What unfolded at Delhi was Australia's only loss of their maiden World Cup triumph and it was triggered by Dilip Vengsarkar's exuberant innings.
After winning the toss, Australian skipper Allan Border invited India to bat first. Indian openers Kris Srikkanth and Sunil Gavaskar gave India a solid start putting on 50 runs for the first wicket. Srikkanth was the first one to depart as he was caught behind off Craig McDermott.
Navjot Singh Sidhu joined Gavaskar to forge a 75-run partnership for the second wicket before Sunny was out having scored 61 runs. Then walked in Vengsarkar, who took advantage of the good position India were in.
Vengsarkar was striking well and scoring at run-a-ball before India lost two quick wickets in the form of Sidhu and skipper Kapil Dev. The wickets didn't hamper his plan as he kept the scoring rate high and partnered with Mohammad Azharuddin to score 67 runs for the fifth wicket.
In his 60-ball 63, India's top-scorer Vengsarkar hit three boundaries and two maximums helping India reach an above-par score of 289/6. Azharuddin provided the late flourish scoring 54 off 45 deliveries.
It was a great outing for the Indian batsmen, as three of the top had scored half-centuries with Azharuddin providing the perfect finish.
Chasing a big total, Australia started off well with the openers putting on 88 runs for the first wicket. They had a few good partnerships reaching 164/3 before a batting collapse saw them lose their only match of the winning-campaign by 56 runs. Opener David Boon was the highest scorer with a 59-ball 62.
The Aussies were bowled out for 233 runs as left-arm spinner Maninder Singh removed three top-order batsmen and Azharuddin cleaned up the tail by claiming three wickets.
Azharuddin was awarded the Man of the Match for his all-round performance.