It has been 40 years since the Indian cricket team lifted its first World Cup trophy. The smile that adorned the former captain Kapil Dev’s face as he held the coveted trophy on June 25, 1983, marked a turning point in India’s cricketing history.
While the smiling skipper is forever etched in our memories, what remains elusive to many is the sheer strength and courage it took for the team to stand at Lord’s famous balcony and take the trophy home.
The film which starred Ranveer Singh and Deepika Paduone under the direction of Kabir Khan had a remarkable scene where an English commentator and cricket historian David Frith was shown eating his own words at Lord’s after the Indian side won the World Cup in 1983.
Frith had written an article objecting to India being invited to the World Cup given their record. He had said that he would eat his words if India progressed beyond the league stage.
This shows how the world underestimated the capabilities of the Indian team, which went on to defeat the feared and defending champions West Indies.
Some Indian players themselves thought of the World Cup in England as an opportunity for sightseeing. Sandip Patil, who was a part of the winning team, said in 2015 that India was nowhere in contention. “The team had hardly performed well in the previous two editions. So as we left India, virtually all of us were in a holiday mood. Cricket was not the first thing on our minds,” he said.
The high rise start
In their first World Cup match in 1983, India went up against the legends West Indies, going head to head with some of the most fearsome players the world has ever seen. To the surprise of everyone, the underdogs ended up beating the mighty. India, pumped by Yashpal Sharma’s 89 runs, put up a score of 262 in 60 overs. Following this, the West Indies buckled out at 228, with Ravi Shastri and Roger Binny taking over the charge with three wickets each.
Next up, India defeated Zimbabwe, who had earlier beaten the Aussies in their first-ever World Cup match, and restricted them to 155, thanks to Madan Lal’s 3/27 and the amazing Syed Kirmani’s brilliant work with the gloves behind the wickets.
After these back to back wins, the team which was nowhere in the race, found themselves at the top of their group. However, they were soon humbled by Australia and West Indies in the subsequent matches.
The fall
The team which was riding high on its consequent wins, found itself staring at a World Cup exit just a few days later.
The Australians set a target of 321 for India, but brought them to a close for just 158. Australia’s Trevor Chappell, Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop left no space for the Indian side to sneak a victory.
The West Indies who were going to face India for the second time in the tournament looked in no mood to make an error. Riding on the shoulders of the legendary player Viv Richards’ breathtaking innings of 119 runs, the defending champions posted 282/9 on the scoreboard. In return, India could only manage to score 216, with Mohinder Amarnath standing as a lone wolf with 80 runs to his name.
Greatest ODI knocks in cricketing history
With their chances of making it to the semi-finals inching closer to its end, India went to face Zimbabwe in a virtual knock-out in Tunbridge Wells. As the Indian fans watched in horror, the team’s scorecard read 9/4.
As India’s fate hung in the balance, the captain walked in like a blessing and went to show the world what is still called as one of the greatest ODI knocks in history. He put up 175 runs which came off just 138 balls. He hit 22 balls off the field, 16 fours and six sixes. It was the highest individual score in ODI cricket.
Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani then put up 126 runs for the ninth wicket. India then went on post 266/8 at the end of the innings.
Following Kapil Dev’s sensational play, Zimbabwe’s Kevin Curran brought in nail-biting suspense with his innings of 73, posing a challenge for India. However, the India team held their own and won the match by 31 runs.
India next demolished Australia and booked their seat in the semi-finals against the home team England after registering a 118-run win over the Aussies.
Beating the Brits
The next mammoth task ahead of India was facing the home team which had lost just one of their six matches. The Brits, who started off well, soon found themselves struggling when Amarnath was called on to halt their stride. Amarnath was successful in taking invaluable wickets of David Gower, the highest run-scorer in the 1983 World Cup, and Mike Gatting.
Towards the end of, England, who were once 141/3, found them walking back to stands at 213.
Walking in on the field for the second innings, India’s openers Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth started strong and put up 46 for the opening wicket. After proving his mettle with the ball, Amaranth scored 46, while Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil scored half-centuries, pushing India into the finals with over five overs to spare.
The finale
It was once again India vs West Indies and the defending champions were the obvious favourites. As West Indies fought to win the trophy for the third time in a row, India fought for a name among the top league players.
West Indies were the odds-on favourite to win the trophy for the third time in a row. What stood in their way was an Indian team that was scripting history with every step they took in the tournament.
After an exemplary performance throughout the tournament, the underdogs found themselves ducking out for a meagre total of 183, with Srikkanth being the top scorer at 38.
After an unwanted total, India skipper Kapil Dev during an innings break said, “Team, if this is not a winning total, then it’s definitely a fighting total.”
What followed was nothing short of a history in making. India dismissed Gordon Greenidge for 1. The infallible Vivian Richards walked in next and smashed seven boundaries, increasing the distance between India and the coveted trophy. But as luck would have it, Richards mistimed a shot and handed the ball in Kapil Dev’s hands.
Later, Clive Lloyd was dismissed for 8 with an injured hamstring. The West Indies were soon reduced to 66/5.
Pumped up by the zealous performance, India’s bowlers, led by Mohinder Amarnath, dismissed the West Indies for 140 runs, securing a stunning 43-run victory.
The rest is now history and to date the chants backing India that rented the air at Lord’s make our hearts swell with pride. Forty years later, India has become second team in history to top ICC rankings in all three formats. Who would have thought that the underdogs will continue to script history and become one of the most feared teams in the world of cricket.