World Cup nostalgia: Kapil Dev, 1983, Lord's and India's greatest win of all time
Kapil Dev and his devils put Indian cricket on the map when they defeated the mighty West Indies in the final to win the 1983 World Cup.
Despite having won two of their four previous games against the world champions, India hardly attracted favouritism going into the final of the 1983 edition. After their shock 34-run defeat to the same opponents in their lung-opener, West Indies seemed to have rediscovered their mojo as they embarked on a six-match winning spree, including a commanding eight-wicket rout in the last four of Pakistan.
India had blown hot and cold, losing to Australia and then to the Caribbeans in the league stage, needing a near-miraculous unbeaten 175 from Kapil Dev to beat back Zimbabwe’s spirited challenge and then defeating the Aussies in their must-win return encounter to make it to the semis, where loomed England. The hosts took it for granted that all they had to do to qualify for the final was turn up at Old Trafford; India punished them with an excellent all-round display to race home by six wickets, affording West Indies the chance to eke out revenge in the June 25 final at Lord’s.
Perhaps incensed that England’s challenge had been snuffed out at the penultimate hurdle, Lord’s laid out a green, bouncy surface for the title clash between the two-time defending champions and the upstarts who had had the temerity to carve their way to the final. Everything pointed to a West Indian three-peat but by now, the winds of optimism were coursing through Indian ranks, and they weren’t going to go down without a fight.
West Indies expectedly lorded the early exchanges, Andy Roberts extending Sunil Gavaskar’s miserable run with the bat by dismissing the opener for two once Clive Lloyd had opted to field. K Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath fought back with typical feistiness, the former focusing on taking the fight to the opposition because he knew no other way and the latter bedding in for the long haul. Srikkanth played several memorable strokes, including the iconic on-one-knee square-drive off Roberts on his way to 38, which would eventually turn out to be the highest score of the final.
India were reasonably well placed at 90 for two when Michael Holding knocked Amarnath over. Sandeep Patil flourished briefly but the West Indian quicks ran through the middle order, and India needed a last-wicket stand of 22 between Syed Kirmani and Balwinder Sandhu to reach 183, well below par against the powerful, aggressive Caribbean batting.
Sandhu raised Indian hopes with a peach that came in and hit the top of Gordon Greenidge’s off-stump when the batter offered no stroke, but Viv Richards arrived in a blaze of boundaries, as if West Indies had only 30 overs to knock off the runs. He was especially severe on Madan Lal, but just as Kapil was about to take the former off the attack, Madan demanded an additional over. The skipper acquiesced, Madan banged the ball in, Richards went for the pull and Kapil ran back and back and back from mid-wicket to pouch one of the great World Cup catches.
The King had fallen for 33 and India were re-energised, once again owing it to their talismanic captain to lift their spirits. They caught everything that came their way, Roger Binny lured the hamstrung Lloyd into an airy cover-drive and in a trice, West Indies were tottering at 76 for six. The few thousands at Lord’s and millions in India, watching awestruck on live television, could scarcely believe what was unfolding in front of them.
Jeff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall briefly held up India’s charge with a seventh-wicket stand of 43 when the golden arm of Amarnath provided the breakthrough, Dujon dragging him on to his stumps. Amarnath looked innocuous with his dozy run-up, but he was a canny customer and added Marshall to his kitty, smartly caught at slip. With every wicket, Indian hearts beat that much faster, the finish line was that much closer. Amarnath rapped last-man Holding on his pad and even as he whirled around to appeal, Dickie Bird’s right index finger shot up to signal the end of the contest. In the mother of all World Cup upsets, India had muscled home by 43 runs, West Indies bowled out for 140. The cricket world would never be the same again.
Brief scores: India 183 all out in 54.4 overs (K Srikkanth 38, Mohinder Amarnath 26, Sandeep Patil 27; Andy Roberts 3-32, Malcolm Marshall 2-24, Michael Holding 2-26, Larry Gomes 2-49) beat West Indies 140 all out in 52 overs (Viv Richards 33, Jeff Dujon 25; Balwinder Sandhu 2-32, Madan Lal 3-31, Mohinder Amarnath 3-12) by 43 runs. Player of the Match: Mohinder Amarnath
