New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS) Diminutive pacer Chetan Sharma took a historic hat trick and Sunil Gavaskar cracked his maiden one-day century to help India beat New Zealand in a crucial 1987 World Cup game in Nagpur and qualify for semi-finals.

It was a 'first' for both the players in this central Indian city Oct 31. No player had ever taken a hat trick in a World Cup while Gavaskar, who then held the world record for most centuries Test matches, had never scored one in the shorter version.

Both achieved the milestone when defending champions India needed a win to progress to semi-finals in this final group match. They won by nine wickets.

New Zealand chose to bat first and posted 221 in 50 overs. Chasing, India needed to score 222 in 42.2 overs to better Australia's net run-rate to enter semi-finals.

Eventually, the hosts, powered by some solid batting by Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Gavaskar and Mohammed Azharuddin, sailed into the last four.

Sharma's hat trick came off the last three balls of the innings' 42nd over. He castled Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield to perform a historic feat that had not happened since the World Cup began in 1975.

A partnership of 39 runs between Martin Snedden and William Watson gave New Zealand a total with which they could hope to fight.

India had to score at 5.25 runs an over. Srikkanth blasted 75 in just 58 balls. But Gavaskar, who was unwell on the eve of the match, hit an unbeaten 103 to see India romp home.

Gavaskar, playing his 106th one-dayer and his last World Cup, completed his century in just 85 balls. He hit three sixes and 10 boundaries.

Gavaskar and Sharma were awarded joint Man-of-the-Match awards.

India qualified to meet England in semi-finals in Mumbai.

SCOREBOARD

Match No. 24, India vs. New Zealand, World Cup,
Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur, Oct 31,
1987

New Zealand:
John Wright run out 35
Phil Horne b Prabhakar 18
Martin Crowe c Pandit b Azharuddin 21
Ken Rutherford b Sharma 26
Jeff Crowe b Maninder Singh 24
Dipak Patel c Kapil Dev b Shastri 40
Martin Snedden run out 23
Ian Smith b Sharma 0
Ewen Chatfield b Sharma 0
Willie Watson not out 12
Extras: (lb 14, w 7, nb 1) 22
Total: (for nine wickets in 50 overs) 221

Fall of wickets: 1-46 (Horne), 2-84 (Martin Crowe),
3-90 (Wright), 4-122 (Jeff Crowe), 5-181 (Patel),
6-182 (Rutherford), 7-182 (Smith), 8-182 (Chatfield),
9-221 (Snedden)

Bowling:
Kapil Dev 6-0-24-0
Manoj Prabhakar 7-0-23-1
Chetan Sharma 10-2-51-3
Mohammed Azharuddin 7-0-26-1
Maninder Singh 10-0-51-1
Ravi Shastri 10-1-32-1

India:
Krishnamachari Srikkanth c Rutherford b Watson 75
Sunil Gavaskar not out 103
Mohammed Azharuddin not out 41
Extras: (lb 1, w 2, nb 2) 5
Total: (for one wicket in 32.1 overs) 224

Fall of wicket: 1-136 (Srikkanth)

Bowling:
Danny Morrison 10-0-69-0
Ewen Chatfield 4.1-1-39-0
Martin Snedden 4-0-29-0
Willie Watson 10-0-50-1
Dipak Patel 4-0-36-0

Result: India won by 9 wickets
Toss: New Zealand
Umpires: H.D. Bird and D.R. Shepherd
Men of the Match: Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Sharma
(India)