By Rajiv Banerjee
Today is 40 years of 1983. The day the Indian cricket team lifted the World Cup at Lords. As a 9 year old then, I absorbed the news of the win from my parents and neighbours. Sheer joy and excitement followed as everyone in the neighbourhood talked about the victory. The black and white television set ran and re-ran the win for sometime.
Watching the action fired our imagination. Children wanted to bat and bowl like #KapilDev. I too tried to copy the unique Kapil action, although I could only generate the gentle medium pace of Mohinder Amarnath, much to the amusement of my friends on the field.
This win propelled India into the big league and gave the Nation the confidence and belief that it could compete and win against formidable opponents on the world stage. The victory, in my opinion, infused the nerve of steel into the spine and was the foundation for the memorable wins India has notched up since then in world cricket, including winning the 50 over Cup again and also the T20 World Cup.
The cricketing greats who have represented India in the last four decades, in my opinion, have also derived inspiration from the Lord’s victory in 1983. It led to a rise in popularity for the 50-over format and spread into the deepest corners, from where we have cricketing heroes who have etched their names in the annals of the game.
I remember the frenzy as World Cup cricket came to India in 1987. If I remember right, it was called Reliance World Cup, with an Indian brand for the first time sponsoring the tournament. In between, we also won the Champions of Champions Cup in Australia and the image of the entire team riding the Audi gifted to Ravi Shastri is still vivid. I believe Ravi Shastri still has the Audi he won for his performance in the series.
The World Cup 1987 in the sub continent drew massive crowds on the field and off it, and viewers on television. I recollect the heart break when India lost to Australia in the semis and Australia then went on to lift the Cup, which they just refused to part with in the 90s and early 2000 as the team supremely dominated the game.
For Gen Z, the win in 2011 is perhaps closer home than 1983. For Gen X (mostly the parents of Gen Z), 1983 was a sweet triumph against all odds. No one gave India a chance but team India made everyone eat humble pie and words, literally!!
The Indian team, like the country, has gone from strength to strength in the last four decades. As a country and a team, we have had our highs and lows in equal measure, but we have today the self belief and the conviction to be the best on world arena. And it’s the team from 1983 that taught us all.
Hat tip to Kapil’s Devils and a pen #sketch to celebrate the day, 40 years ago. Cheers!!
The author is the group head – Corporate Communications at Piramal Enterprises Ltd.