40th anniversary of India winning world cup today.How great a team ?
On 25th June we celebrate the 40th anniversary, of India winning the 1983 Prudential world cup. It was close to Sport’s greatest upset or India’s best ever sporting achievement. The ultimate epitome of triumph from regions of adversity.
It is hard for words to describe or do justice to the sheer ecstasy or joy amongst Indians at Lords and in India. It gave an effect of new epoch written in Indian cricket or a sporting renaissance.
India had achieved the equivalent of a David conquering Goliath .The scene was reminiscent of an invincible emperor or nation overpowered, when overpowering West Indies. India literally resurrected itself like a phoenix from the Ashes not only at Lords, but a week ago against Zimbabwe, after tottering at 17-5.
Although in terms of strength well below par with the might of the West Indies, India elevated fighting spirit or resilience to heights to overcome a more powerful adversary, rarely scaled in sport. It transcended energy exuded in volumes very rarely, in the sporting arena. Collective spirit in sport, was radiated at a helm.
World cup Final
India was bundled out for mere 183 at Lords and the result looked a foregone conclusion. A dazzling 38 by Krishnamachari Srikkanth was the only bright spot, with some scintillating boundaries. Rarely has ODI cricket witnessed such a clinical or consummate bowling display as the Caribbean pace attack that day. Andy Roberts getting Gavaskar to knick an oustwinger, Holding piercing through the gate of Mohinder Amarnath to send his stumps crashing and Marshall trapping Shrikanth in front, were ample illustrations.
In pursuit of a target of 183 runs, Balwinder Sandhu astonishingly bowled Gordon Greenidge in the very first over , who shouldered arms to a delivery that swung back, down the hill. Viv Richards marked his arrival at the crease, as though he wished to finish off the task, having a flight to catch. He took the Indian bowlers by the scruff of the neck, as though he was performing a demolition operation. Till he was present, a West Indies win looked a mere formality.
At 57 Viv held out to Kapil Dev at long on, who pulled off a classical catch, of a skier. A few balls later Larry Gomes edged an outswinger to Gavaskar at slip and then skipper Clive Lloyd held out to be caught by Kapil Dev. West Indies were now in dire straits at 66-5.The complexion of the game had turned like a 360 degree twist in a plot, in a Hollywood epic.
Rarely in cricket or sport, had viewers witnessed such a dramatic twist and turn. Seeing the Indian cricketers rejuvenated in the middle was a sight to behold. West Indies went into further disarray after the break, with Faoud Bacchus edging a wide delivery to wicketkeeper Kirmani, with the score at 76.
Then Jeff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall put up rearguard 43 run partnership before Mohinder Amaranth intervened to dismiss Jeff Dujon shouldering arms and prompting Malcolm Marshall to edge the ball to Gavaskar at slip.Amarnath’s deceptive movement, trapped both the batsmen.Kapil Dev then trapped Andy Roberts and with the target 43 runs adrift, Amarnath rapped Michael Holding in front, to seal the title for India.
It is almost impossible to diagnose what caused the upset for West Indies. However this was manifestation of unpredictability or mysterious element in sport. Few games more conveyed how much sport was in the mind. No doubt the pitch was juicy for paceman, with grass and steep bounce. Still what won the day for India, was the sheer determination it radiated, which transcended intensity rarely penetrated in team sports. The team simply stuck to it’s basic task.
West Indies reminded one of a might army or empire vanquished, like Napoleon loosing at Waterloo. Neverthless they were most sporting in defeat, coming to the dressing room, to congratulate the Indian team. Skipper Clive Lloyd remarked “Full marks to the Indians.”I was very happy to also see Pakistani cricketers Sarafraz Nawaz and Abdul Qadir join the victory celebrations and Asif Iqbal express his pride over the triumph of an Asian team in a world cup.
What was remarkable was that it was no single person, but a combined effort, that won India the world cup final. The blazing innings of Srikkanth ,the cameo of Sandeep Patil, the batting solidity and seam movement of Amarnath, the catch of Viv Richards by Kapil Dev, the belligerence of Madan Lal ,Roger Binny and Balwinder Sandhu, all pooled together, to create history for India.
One of my most impactful memories was that of Madan Lal, who inspite of innocuous pace literally made the West Indies batsmen shiver, reminiscent of creating fire from no man’s land. Few cricketers did as much as the doctor ordered in a world cup final as Jimmy Amarnath, combining both ball and bat.
Possibly, no world cup final manifested the sheer spirit of the game, to as exalting heights. The atmosphere on the Lord’s cricket ground was like a festival of the crowds.
It is not easy to evaluate the true merit or accurately assess the greatness of the Indian team. Without doubt West Indies was the best team of the tournament, and England, Pakistan or Australia, on their day, were on par with India. This was proved in subsequent ODI series which India played at home against West Indies, England, Pakistan and Australia at home.
In full flow, no team looked as organised, clinical or focused as India. I would repudiate any fan who claimed India’s triumph was a fluke. Possibly in that week, India blazed glory, or scaled the heights, of the best ever World cup champions. Above all, no team ever gave as good an advertisement, of the unpredictability of the ODI game, taking surprise element to regions of the sublime. No team every shattered the myth of invincibility of West Indies in ODI Cricket. No doubt, India was grossly underestimated, before the tournament. India defeated, what was possibly, the best ODI side ever, on two occasions.
Noteworthy that in the very first game of the tournament. India overcame the mighty West Indies, by 34 runs. It proved India’s capturing of the title, was no fluke. Also evidence in India’s victory against West Indies in an ODI at Berbice, on the 1983 tour of West Indies, with India prevailing by a wide margin.
What fortified India was it’s plethora of all-rounders , great batting depth and determination of fast –medium bowlers to obtain movement in the air. The all-round skills of Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath,Roger Binny and Madan Lal proved handy and the fact that even tail enders like Balwinder Sandhu and Syed Kirmani,were no mugs with the bat. Credit should also be given to the determination of Yashpal Sharma, and flamboyance of Sandeep Patil and Shrikanth, with the bat. High praise should also be given to Roger Binny and Madan Lal who unflinchinghly stuck to line and length, and fully exploited the seaming conditions to extract sideways movement. Pertinent that till today, Kapil Dev, is rated the best ever ODI all-rounder. Psychology of starting as underdogs too was a crucial factor, as well as the seaming conditions, which aided the bowlers.
