On 25 June 1983, exactly 37 years ago, the Indian team won its first World Cup. The Indian team, led by Kapil Dev, had beaten the two-time champions West Indies in the finals. According to the former Indian batsman K Srikkanth, 'We had no chance of winning in the final of the 1983 World Cup as the entire team was all out to just 183 runs, but the inspirational talk of Captain Kapil Dev succeeded in winning trophy for the team.'
India defeated the strong West Indies team by 43 runs in the 1983 World Cup final played at Lord's in England. The Kapil Dev-led side bowled out two-time champions West Indies for 140 despite being reduced to 183 runs.
K Srikanth was the top scorer with 38 runs in this low-scoring final match. He said, "We did not expect anything at all seeing the strong batting line-up of the West Indies. But Kapil Dev had said one thing and he did not say that we can win but he said – look we were all out for 183 and we should challenge, not lose the match easily."
He said, 'It was a' turning point 'for Indian cricket and Indians. At a time, when cricket was dominated by the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand and others, the 'underdog' Indian team as a whole became the world champion.
The former chief selector recalled that board officials had also announced a bonus of Rs 25,000 for him. He said, 'On the eve of the final, the top officials of the board, joint secretary and everyone were there and a short meeting took place. He said, 'Don't worry about tomorrow's final, all of you have come so far which is fantastic and whether you win this match or not, they announced a bonus of Rs 25,000 for all of us.'
Srikanth said, 'We were not under so much pressure. Because the West Indies were strong contenders, They were the 1975 and 1979 champion. They dominated the world cricket, so we thought it was a big thing to reach the final.
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