1983 World Cup: The day when India’s position in world cricket almost changed drastically and thereon India came to be known as the powerhouse in World cricket.
39 years ago, team India led by Kapil Dev crowned the World Cup champions at the historic Lords Cricket Ground beating the mighty West Indies in a low-scoring thriller that eventually ended up being India winning it by 43 runs.
“Your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude”.
This quote will probably suit Kapil Dev and the motivation he imbibed upon his teammates and went on to win the cup that was nowhere near their destiny.
Winning against the players like Sir Clive Llyod, batting maestro Sir Viv Richards, and bowling legends in Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, and Sir Andy Roberts; takes your heart and soul and nothing less than all your sacrifice to it.
Although they had already overcome the Windies' challenge once in a group game, but in the other match, Sir Viv smashed a century to equal the blitz.
India had a good outing in this campaign beating the greats like Australia once, and Zimbabwe twice, winning against England in the semi-final besides a title-clinching win over West Indies in the final.
Pace bowler Roger Binny was the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 18-scalps. This was the first time any Indian bowler had topped the wicket chart beside Anil Kumble in 1996 and Zaheer Khan in 2011.
Madan Lal closely followed his partner with 17 scalps to his name while skipper Kapil Dev took 13 wickets besides smashing 303 runs in the tournament with a knock of 175* against Zimbabwe.
In the final, India opted out to bat first after winning the toss and later only managed just 183 runs on the board. Kris Srikkanth was the highlight of the innings who made 38 runs with 7 fours and a six.
This was the highest score in the match, the second-best score by Viv Richards who made 33 before Kapil took a stunner to dismiss him.
After the first innings, it looked like the dream would remain a dream seeing the majestic West Indies batting line-up. But it remains small against the motivation with which the Indian team took on the field. Against the ruthless Indian bowling line-up, the Windies were dismantled to just 140 runs.
The team that competed without any coach, doctor, or a physio just played their original game and crowned the world champions that too against previous 2 times cup holder West Indies.
History was made that day, and Indian cricket was transformed. Spirit of joy enlightened that day. That was unforgettable. God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar has his words on that victory as “a day that changed the Indian cricket history forever, a joy we felt and the pride on witnessing India win the world cup.”
By: Mohit Singhal
