Kapil Dev and his men bring home the ’83 World Cup
How the paper told the story of India’s fairytale triumph after being dismissed as no-hopers
PC Nigam
Salute skipper Kapil Dev and his miracle-pulling team mates for a fairytale triumph over two-time champions and heavily fancied West Indies in the Prudential World Cup final at Lord’s on Sunday, and for adding the most glorious page in the annals of Indian cricket. The entire nation is proud of them, and itching to give the heroes an unprecedented welcome on arrival. The haunting memories of India’s two recent humiliating Test series — one against Pakistan and the other against the West Indies — have been completely erased, and at the moment, it is ecstasy and jubilation all around. What a feat.
Even the staunchest and most optimistic Indian supporter could never have imagined the fantastic turn of fortune that Kapil Dev’s men of miracles pulled off against the world’s undisputed instant cricket kings, West Indies, Australia, and England. The fact that they overpowered all opposition with authority, and by convincing margins, speaks volumes of their skill and fighting qualities. Out of the eight matches India played, they won six and lost only two.
In fact, India, starting as rank outsiders along with Zimbabwe, gave a hint of their firepower when they shocked the reigning champions, West Indies, by 34 runs in the opening encounter of their group league. This sensational success was termed a fluke, as till then, India had won only one match, and that too against unsung East Africa in the inaugural World Cup in 1971. And it appeared to be so when, India were whipped by Australia.
The worst followed thereafter, and India looked destined to go out of reckoning when they were on the verge of disaster against Zimbabwe, losing five wickets for 17 runs. But the never-say-die Kapil Dev rose to the occasion and hammered a record unbeaten 175 to turn defeat into a glorious 31-run victory. This was the turning point for India, as from then on, they never looked back, and mowed down Australia and England with ruthless efficiency and singleness of purpose before stunning the West Indies by 43 runs in a thrilling, low-scoring final.
The credit for this achievement naturally goes to that lionhearted Haryana stalwart, Kapil Dev, who moulded the team into a well-knit combination and marshalled his limited resources like a seasoned campaigner. He himself made significant contributions by scoring 303 runs to top the batting averages with 60.6, and captured 12 wickets at the cost of 20.42 runs apiece. Though in the ultimate analysis it was the team spirit that clicked, it must be admitted that Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Roger Binny, Sandeep Patil and Syed Kirmani were the most shining lights. While Mohinder and Madan proved their worth as great all-rounders the others too pulled their weight to turn a dream into reality. Yashpal, in all, scored 240 runs with an average of 34.29 and was easily the best fielder, while Binny emerged the highest wickettaker. In all, he bowled 88 overs, conceded 336 runs and captured 18 wickets. Patil totaled 216 runs at an average of 30.86, while Kirmani kept the wickets admirably besides contributing precious runs a crises.
Besides these individual performances, two other things which stood out the most were the killer instinct and superb fielding. Even when the chips were down, and they were on numerous occasions, the Indians fought back with remarkable courage and perseverance which had sadly been missing in the past.
Some cynics may still call India’s feat a fluke, but that is far from the truth.
Well done India, and well done Kapil Dev!