Group stage (Group B) — 1979 Cricket World Cup
June 16-18, 1979 · Old Trafford, Manchester
Result: SLSri Lanka — Sri Lanka won by 47 runs. SLSri Lanka 238/5 (60 overs), INIndia 191 all out (54.1 overs). June 16-18, 1979 · Old Trafford, Manchester.
Sri Lanka, then an ICC Associate Member, defeated a Test-playing nation for the first time in ODI history -- widely described as a watershed moment for Sri Lankan cricket and cited as contributing to Sri Lanka's Test status being granted in 1981. Regular Sri Lanka captain Anura Tennekoon was injured and missed the match; Bandula Warnapura captained in his place. This remains Sri Lanka's only win of the 1979 tournament, and India finished the group stage without a win.
Scorecard
India won the toss and chose to field.
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| SLSri Lanka (1st innings) | 238/5 (60 overs) |
| INIndia (2nd innings) | 191 all out (54.1 overs) |
Leading batters
| Team | Batter | Runs (balls) |
|---|---|---|
| SLSri Lanka | Sidath Wettimuny | 67 (120) |
| SLSri Lanka | Duleep Mendis | 64 (50, 3 sixes) |
| SLSri Lanka | Roy Dias | 50 (88) |
| SLSri Lanka | Sudath Pasqual | 23* |
| INIndia | Dilip Vengsarkar | 36 |
| INIndia | Anshuman Gaekwad | 33 |
| INIndia | Sunil Gavaskar | 26 |
Leading bowlers
| Team | Bowler | Figures |
|---|---|---|
| SLSri Lanka | Somachandra de Silva | 3/29 |
| SLSri Lanka | Tony Opatha | 3/31 |
| INIndia | Mohinder Amarnath | 3/40 |
Player of the Match
Duleep Mendis (Sri Lanka)
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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