On 18 June, the Neville Ground in Tunbridge Wells saw one of the most memorable moments in India’s cricket history. Indian captain Kapil Dev performed brilliantly on the biggest stage of world cricket, playing a brilliant innings of 175 against Zimbabwe. Words of praise cannot suffice for a stellar batting performance that took the Indian team from the depths of 17/4 to a total of 266 runs, which was India’s highest total in a World Cup.
India won the toss and decided to bat first on a difficult pitch. Zimbabwe’s quick pair of Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran ruined India’s top order. Within a few overs, India’s condition deteriorated and they lost four wickets and saved only 17 runs. This was followed by an extraordinary innings by a captain on a mission. In the early part of his innings, Kapil showed flexibility as he played carefully and picked the right deliveries to score.
Once the fast bowlers started getting tired, Kapil decided to play his shots. He opened himself as soon as the pitch started getting worse. The boundaries of Neville Stadium now seemed small. Kapil scored his first fifty in 26 balls, his second in 13 balls and his third half-century in just 11 balls. While Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani and Roger Binny offered some support, it was a one-man show throughout the Indian innings.
Kapil Dev showed no signs of fatigue as he kept hitting boundaries at regular intervals. He hit 6 sixes and 14 fours during his innings. As he crossed the 171-run mark, the field erupted with applause. Kapil was a little surprised to hear the untimely applause from the crowd before revealing that he broke Glenn Turner’s record for the highest score in an ODI.
Kapil Dev played an unbeaten innings of 175 runs in 138 balls. Considering that the next highest score on the card was Syed Kirmani’s 26, Kapil’s score of 175 seems like a feat beyond human capabilities. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 235 and India managed to make it to the semi-finals,
Those who were not on the field could not see the record breaking innings of Kapil Dev. The widely held belief is that BBC cameramen were on strike for not broadcasting the match, although others state that the BBC decided to cover the England–Pakistan match, which was being played in Manchester on the same day.
Within a span of seven days, Kapil Dev and the Indian team defeated the mighty West Indies to win the 1983 World Cup.
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos And cricket score Here