1983 World Cup Victory: Kapil Dev’s India stunned the world 40 years from now when they lifted the world title by defeating West Indies, the team of a generation, not once, but twice. It was the biggest sporting spectacle for India, who had won only one of their six matches in the previous two editions and that was against East Africa. These 14 men, along with manager PR Man Singh, scripted history and this victory gives goosebumps how an underdog raised his voice against the giants in cricket.
Here we look at five top moments from the historic win of the tournament.
1 – Yashpal Sharma shines in defeating world champions Windies: What else can one expect from a weak team that beat two-time world champions and undefeated West Indies? The Indian team faced a formidable pace-battery consisting of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner in the opening match of the tournament.
They didn’t get off to a good start as Kris Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath fell, leaving India at 76/3. But then came Yashpal Sharma, who attacked a lethal bowling unit. He scored a 120-ball 89 in the first game to set a fightable target of 262 for the Windies.
2 – Kapil Dev’s brilliant effort of 175 runs: After winning two matches and losing the next two matches, India were in a difficult position in the tournament. They faced Zimbabwe in their fifth game and a defeat could see them out of the tournament. Moreover, they suffered a crushing blow as four wickets fell for only 9 runs on the board. Loss was looming. But with a performance for the ages came Indian skipper Kapil Dev. On the challenging surface of Tunbridge Wells, Kapil broke the world record for the highest individual score in ODI cricket by scoring 175 runs from 146 balls.
Kapil combined with Roger Binny (60 runs), Madan Lal (62 runs) and Syed Kirmani (126 not out) to take India to a fighting 266 and win the match by 31 runs.
3 – Roger Binny and Madan Lal’s magical hands against Australia: In the final league stage game of the tournament, India needed a win against heavyweights Australia to reach the semi-finals. Kapil’s team put up 247 runs on the board with contributions from several batsmen. But it all came down to defending the target against the Aussies, who had beaten India in the first league stage game.
Binny tore apart Australia’s top-order after Balwinder Sandhu provided the first wicket. Binny dismissed Graeme Wood, Graehan Yallop and David Hookes and then later Tom Hogan. Meanwhile, Madan Lal dismantled the middle order and took four wickets to guide India to a 118-run victory.
4-Yashpal Sharma once again: Yashpal Sharma was once again India’s star with the bat against England in the semi-finals. India were chasing 214 and a place in the semi-finals at home to England, but they defeated them in style. After the early dismissals of the openers, Yashpal held one end and kept the scoreboard going.
He stitched crucial partnerships of 92 and 63 with Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil to take India to victory. This was India’s first ODI win against England at home.
5 – Kapil’s special catch, with a significant contribution in becoming the champion: In the end, India still had an uphill task in front of the mighty West Indies and West Indies were favorites to win the title. But the thinking of Indians was something else. The finale saw some notable performances, starting with Kris Srikkanth’s 38 off 57, which was the top score of the final.
In defence, there were some brilliant efforts from Kapil Dev, Madan Lal and Amarnath to hand India a famous victory. Windies had the lowest score of 228 runs in the tournament and defending it was a herculean task in itself. Viv Richards was playing like a walk in the park and taking the Windies to a famous victory. But on Madan Lal’s ball, Kapil Dev caught the catch while running behind the 30-yard circle and foiled India’s biggest threat. It was literally the World Cup that was in the air.
However, when the Windies were building partnerships, Amarnath came in late and took wickets. He was also awarded player of the match in the semi-final and final. India was awarded the World Cup trophy.