Last Update: January 06, 2023, 08:23 AM IST
Kapil Dev led India to a historic victory in the 1983 World Cup in England. (Image: Twitter/@cricketworldcup)
Kapil Dev was the greatest Indian cricketer in the history of the game. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time to play the game.
Happy Birthday Kapil Dev: Kapil Dev was the greatest Indian cricketer in the history of the game. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders of all time to play the game. Kapil led India to a historic World Cup victory in 1983 – a moment and event that changed Indian cricket and India forever. He was also the first bowler to take 200 ODI wickets and was one of the most restrictive bowlers in the history of the format.
As he turns 64 today, January 6, we look at 5 numbers that stand out from his illustrious career.
5000 and 400: Scored more than 5000 runs and took more than 400 wickets in Test cricket
Kapil Dev is the only player in the history of Test cricket to have achieved the unique double of scoring more than 5000 runs and taking more than 400 wickets. He ended his career with 5248 runs in 131 Tests at an average of 29.64 including 8 centuries and 434 wickets.
1983: Gave India a historic victory in the 1983 World Cup
Kapil Dev led India to a historic victory in the 1983 World Cup in England. He was the player of the tournament and did not fail even once in the 8 matches he played in the tournament. He was the fifth highest run-scorer of the tournament with a total of 303 runs in 8 innings at an average of 60.6 and more importantly a strike rate of 108.99 – second highest after the World Cup (minimum 100 runs ). Rod Marsh.
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Kapil stood out for his ability to score tough runs under pressure (the fall of early wickets) at a high strike rate. No other innings demonstrated this quality better than his 175 off just 138 balls against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. His economy rate of 2.91 indicates that he was exceptionally restricted throughout the tournament.
434: Number of wickets in Test cricket
Kapil Dev took 434 wickets in 131 Tests at an average of 29.64 and a strike rate of 63.9. Only Anil Kumble has taken more wickets in Test cricket for India. He is the 9th highest wicket taker in Test cricket history.
109: Only Test century in India’s victory
Kapil Dev came out to bat at 156 for 5 in the first innings of the fourth and final Test against the West Indies in Chennai in 1988 and scored an impressive 109 off 124 balls with 18 fours. India scored 382 runs. A certain Narendra Hirwani then bagged 16 wickets on debut to lead India to a famous 255-run series-levelling victory.
95.07: ODI strike rate
Kapil Dev’s ODI strike rate of 95.07 during the former’s career (Oct 1978–Oct 1994) was the second highest in the world (minimum 1000 runs) after Ian Smith (99.43).
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