How Kapil Dev helped Indian Cricket team rewrite the new era of Cricketing World

India is today honouring its 37th World Cup anniversary on Thursday. The ICC World Cup of 1983 not only improved the way cricket was viewed and played in India but it rewrote India itself.

37 years ago, on this very day, Under Kapil Dev’s captaincy. India astonished the West Indies giants to win its maiden 1983 World Cup and lifted the coveted trophy in the iconic Lord’s balcony. With that one juncture, India as a nation has started a new era for cricket which enlightened many others to take up this sport.

Thinking back to that memory again:-

The first main crucial minute of every cricket match is toss that India lose that day and was asked to bat first.

The West Indies was having a dominant bowling side comprising players like Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding ran through India’s batting line-up.

But with nothing to lose, skipper Kapil Dev led from the front which was the beginning of a new era for Indian cricket.

Batting first, the Indian team was on the back foot after getting bundled out for 183 runs only on board. While It was an acceptable total that was set against the powerful pace attack of West Indies bowlers, but the total was easy to chase for strong batting line-up of Windies.

The scoresheet timeline of Indian batting side was like:-

• The opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar was the first who got dismissed initially with 2 runs only.
• K. Srikkanth and M. Amarnath was having a good partnership taking India past the 50 mark. Soon Srikkanth lost his wicket for a powerful 38 runs to Marshall. His seven boundaries comprised one memorable on-the-knees square drive off Andy Roberts.
• As India was reaching near the 100 runs, M. Amarnath lost his wicket against the bowling of Holding for 26 runs.
• Then unexpectedly, Yashpal Sharma fell to part-time spinner L Gomes and Indian score dropped to 92/4.
• The Indian Skipper Kapil Dev has struck 3 boundaries with the aggressive 15 runs in just 8 balls but he was caught at boundary off to Gomes and then in just a moment Kirti Azad was back in the pavilion without scoring bringing India at 111/6.
• Roger Binny too couldn’t pass over the double-figure mark on that upsetting moment.
• Sandeep Patil made a crucial 27 runs before he was dismissed as the 8th wicket on the total of 153/8.
• All-rounder Madan Lal soon followed for 17 runs before getting out with the last man Balwinder Sandhu joining wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani.
• Both had a 10th wicket partnership of 22 runs before Holding clean bowled Kirmani for 14 runs.

The Indian batting line-up has given their every effort but couldn’t withstand the stipulated 60 overs as they were bowled out for 183 runs in 54.4 overs, a below-par score in a final.

Except for K. Srikkanth, no other Indian batsman managed to reach the thirties runs and the two-time world champions West Indies had an easy target of 184 runs only to chase.

On 1983, West Indies team has some of the greatest names in world cricket and while they had plenty of midst in the batting line-up. That was arguably to be the most fearsome pace attack cricket has ever seen in one team.

“With the batting line-up that West Indian had and looking at 183, we thought we had no scope at all. But Kapil Dev said one thing and he didn’t say we can win but he said – look guys we have got out for 183 and we should give resistance and not give away the match so easily,” Srikkanth once said on Star Sports 1 Tamil show.

In reply to Kapil’s effort to energize all the players which proved to be the turning point of the match.

The Final show started again with the Windies player coming out from the pavilion after Indian side set the total of 183 runs only but with full motivation, the Indian players were prepared to fight back.

• In the start, unexpectedly West Indies batsman was amazed by Sandhu breakthrough as he famously clean bowled Gordon Greenidge (1 run) with a huge inswinger to which the batsman had shouldered arms.
• As expected, V. Richards was looking in total domination and soon West Indies crossed 50 with Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards batting smoothly.
• Then surprisingly, Madan Lal stunned by dismissing Haynes first and later Vivian Richards with the Kapil Dev running backwards from short mid-wicket to snatch a sensational catch under pressure. This brings the West Indies total to 57 runs with 3 big wickets gone.
• After some big wicket, Madan Lal also claimed his 3rd wicket in the form of Larry Gomes (5 runs) with the tally of 66/4.
• Kapil Dev once again rose to the occasion as he caught West Indies Skipper Clive Lloyd (8 runs) off Roger Binny reeling West Indies at 66/5.
• Soon Faoud Bacchus (8 runs) lost his wicket to Sandhu. The Windies middle-order fell like nine pins with the wickets of C. Lloyd, Larry Gomes and Faoud Bacchus succumbing to the pressure.
• Wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon and all-rounder Malcolm Marshall did put up a fight and tried a recovery act with a 43 runs partnership for the 7th wicket.
• With productive bowling, M. Amarnath earned the wicket by dismissing both of them as the defending champions fell to 124/8.
• Soon Kapil Dev trapped Andy Roberts in front of the wicket and Amarnath clean bowled Michael Holding dismissing West Indies in just 140 runs in 52 overs.

Indian bowling manipulated the weather and pitch conditions flawlessly to bowl out the best batting line-up of the era, winning by 43 runs and completing one of the most stunning upsets in cricket history till now, defeating the invincible West Indies.

“It was the turning point for Indian cricket and for Indians. At a time when cricket was dominated by West Indies, Australia, New Zealand and others, a total underdog Indians became the world champions,” Srikkanth said.

The words from the skipper seemed to do the stunt as India bowled out the mighty Windies for 140 to win the match by 43 runs. The image of skipper Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup trophy at Lord’s is still etched in the minds of every Indian cricket fan.

There are many of the cricketers who had their debuts after 2000, have mostly named the popular “Sachin Tendulkar” as their inspiration behind picking up this sport. However, it was the legendary Kapil Dev – who was accountable for the start of a new era as India became the world champions for the first time, 37 years ago, against the West Indies.