A plethora of stories could be penned down while writing an article on the anniversary celebration of the 1983 Prudential World Cup. It was the day when Kapil Dev revealed the team played like a winner, following the victory by 43 runs against two times champion West Indies. It was the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament.
It was a historic day. It was a landmark moment for Indian cricket led by Kapil Dev. The team stunned organizers, fans and defending champions West Indies, lifting the ODI World Cup.
Pregnant with iconic moments, the team captured its maiden cricket world cup. Memories were developed on June 25 to last a lifetime. The gala victory is evident that Indian fans have unreal obsession for cricket.
Winning the toss, West Indies decided to field first the 60-over match. India scored 183 and Kris Srikkanth emerged as the best batsman of the day hitting seven 4s and one 6s to register 38 runs in just 57 balls. His fall of wicket was second after Sunil Gavaskar when the team score was 59. Mohinder Amarnath equally proved resistance when the Indies bowlers ripped through the other batsmen. He scored 26 from 80 balls.
India was all out in 54.4 overs compiling just 183 runs. However, the Indian bowling explicited the pitch as well as the weather conditions and bowled perfectly to wrap up the opponents at 140 in 52 overs. The score card is still the lowest ever win in a World Cup final.
On the bowling front, Madan Lal‘s three wickets in 12 overs with 2 maidens paved a confidence among the players to win the World Cup. Simultaneously, Mahinder Amarnath’s equally 3 wickets helped in fulfilling the dream. He was the most economical bowler of the day. He was awarded the Man of the Match.
The eleven players of 1983 World Cup were Sunil Gavaskar, Kris Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Kapil Dev (C), Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani and Balwinder Sandhu.
The triumph of Kapil Dev and his team mates were re-visited by Indian cricket fans of all ages, including those who witnessed the match through a BBC radio commentary then, at theaters with Indian biographical movie ’83 starring Ranveer Singh, who played the title role of Kapil Dev. The film was initially scheduled for a release in 2020, but the producers had to push it to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Decades later the moments are still fresh and the vibes are still enthusiastic.
In 2014, a Malayalam language film titled 1983 was released to portray the triumph of Indian cricket team in the World Cup. The story line centers on a local cricket player Rameshan from a remote village in Kerala. Nivin Pauly portrayed the role of Rameshan.
Verdict – Kapil Dev and his boys gave a golden day to the cricket fans of India to dance with joy. The team gave an unforgettable memory. A proud moment too. A moment that transformed the sport forever.
