Remembering India's first ever World Cup win in 1983, this day 35 years ago

Almost every nation will have a story, a turning point where they began excelling in a sport after a long spate of failures. Some of them go on to dominate forever, while some others enjoy a short period of glory, after which they fall prey to failures again, waiting for another crest. And meanwhile, the sport in question may go on to become the most enjoyed and revered sport in the nation as well.

Prior to 1983, Hockey was probably the only sport that was consistent in providing India with laurels and a revered place in the World Map. Though it was largely due to singlehanded efforts of certain individuals like Dhyan Chand, it was the success that mattered. Which was the same reason why Cricket was not popular in the country those days. Despite having a few big names to play for the country, India still lagged behind in cricket, for a major part in the 20th century.

This is where our "turning-point" comes into play. Whatever India were in the cricketing world were all taken for a toss, as were the rest of the world, as for the first time ever, India became World Champions. This was in the summer of 1983, and to be exact, we celebrate the 35th anniversary of India's first ever global win in the sport, on this very day - 25th June.

While we're at it, let us take a look into the glorious path that the "Kapil's Devils" trodded, straight into the hearts of a few million Indians, and into the pages of an equal number of history books.

Gordon Greenidge against India, Prudential World Cup, 1983.

India's Game #1: vs Windies, Group Stage

Winning the inaugural edition of the Cricket World Cup in 1975, and returning four years later to win it again, the Windies were the tournament favourites for the third time as well, and nothing shorter than winning a hat-trick title would have been preferred by the likes of Sir Viv Richards and co., themselves. And as mentioned earlier, the Indians were complete minnows. The game seemed an easy win for the defending champions.

Around ten hours later, the world saw quite a different result. Having won the toss, the Windies elected to put the Indians to bat first. The Indians in turn, did moderately well, scoring 262/8 in the allotted 60 overs (back then the ODIs had two teams batting 60 overs apiece instead of 50). Yashpal Sharma was the top-scorer and eventual man-of-the-match with 89 runs off 120 balls, including nine fours. Sandeep Patil (36 off 52), Roger Binny (27 off 38), Madan Lal (21 off 22) and Mohinder Amarnath (21 off 60) where the other main contributors with the bat. Yashpal was the only Indian to score boundaries in the game.

On reply, the Windies looked strong at 49/0, when Desmond Haynes (24 off 29) ran himself out. This was followed by the dismissal of Gordon Greenidge (24 off 55) in the next over, and by the time the score reached 76, Viv Richards had also returned to the pavilion. Wickets then started falling in regular intervals, and soon the Windies were reduced to 157/9. Captain Clive Lloyd (25 off 38) tried to resist, but his batting partners did not help him substantially.

But still there were enough balls left, and the last batting pair of Andy Roberts and Joel Garner looked like they were pulling off a heist, until the first ball of the 55th over, when Kirmani stumped Garner to end the innings at 228, India winning the match by 34 runs. Garner and Roberts took 37 runs each and top-scored for their team. Garner scored the only boundary of the innings. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri picked up three wickets each for India.

The Indians meanwhile, marked a dream start to the World Cup, as with the first game itself, they exceeded the expectations they had on them.

Indian fans in the World Cup, 1983.

India's Game #2: vs Zimbabwe, Group stage

Fresh from the win against Windies, India faced a relatively-weak Zimbabwe next. The game which was touted to be India's right from ball one, did not change its course on any occasion either.

Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first. Kapil's bowlers proved their captain right by picking up wickets frequently, finally dismantling the entire opposition for 155 runs in 51.4 overs, as the Zimbabweans exhibited little fight. Ian Butchart and Grant Patersen scored 22 each, and were the top-scorers. Andy Pycroft, Duncan Fletcher and Dave Houghton, who were the usual stars, failed to make much of an impact.

India in turn, chased down the target with nearly half the innings to spare, for a loss of five wickets. Sandeep Patil's 50 off 54 and Mohinder Amarnath's 44 from 79 acted as the chief catalysts for the win.

Madan Lal picked up 3 Zimbabwean wickets for 27 runs in 10.4 overs, and was adjudged man-of-the-match.

Trevor Chappell enroute in blistering 100

India's Game #3: vs Australia, Group Stage

Four days after defeating Zimbabwe, India has a tough opposition in Allan Border's Australia. The Aussie side, despite labelled "the worst side ever to leave Australian shores" for a World Cup, carried a lot of big names like the captain himself, apart from the likes of Trevor Chappell, Kepler Wessels, Rod Marsh, and so on. And the Indians were soon to find out the power of the Kangaroos.

Border won the toss and decided to bat first, and the Aussie side put up a humongous 320/9 in the scoreboard, in 60 overs. In these days of powerplays, field-restrictions and new balls, the total seems very feasible, but not in those days. It was a match half-won by Australia already.

Trevor Chappell led the Aussie batting attack, scoring 110 off 131 balls, including 11 fours. Kim Hughes (51 off 86) and Graham Yallop (66 not out off 73) were the other chief contributors. Every Indian bowler except Kapil Dev got punished severely. Kapil returned with impressive figures of 42/5 in his 12 overs. After making an impact early in the game, taking the wicket of Kepler Wessels, he came back in the end and ran through the Australian lower order, picking up four more.

The Indian batting was a complete contrast to that of their counterparts. They were more like the Zimbabwe from their last game, with batsmen falling like bowling pins to a lethal bowling attack from the Aussies. Kris Srikanth and Kapil Dev, who scored 39 and 40 respectively, were the only two batsmen who offered little resistance, as in the end the Indians were all-out for 158, with the Aussies winning by a bigger margin than the Indian scoreline. Ken MacLeay cleaned up the Indians with his spell of 6 for 39 in 11.5 overs, while Trevor Chappell was named the man of the match for his ton.

Clive Lloyd against India, World Cup 1983.

India's Game #4: vs Windies, Group Stage

In many ways, the first India-Windies game was an eye opener for the Caribbeans. They certainly had not expected to be ripped apart by a minnow side, after being labeled the tournament favourites. The loss was a jolt to their senses, and when the two teams faced off once again, the Windies looked to dominate - and ended up doing exactly so.

Winning the toss, Captain Lloyd asked his team to bat first. A well-structured Viv Richards ton (119 off 146) along with adequate support provided by Clive Lloyd (41 off 42) and Desmond Haynes (38 off 93) took the Windies to a score of 282/9 in 60 overs. Roger Binny picked up three wickets albeit being expensive, at 71 runs in 12 overs.

After a rough start which saw the dismissals of Kris Srikanth and Ravi Shastri, a partnership between Mohinder Amarnath (80 off 139) and Dilip Vengsarkar (32 off 59) looked to make things right for the Indians, when Vengsarkar took a Malcolm Marshall delivery right on the chin and retired hurt. This was followed by wickets falling at regular intervals, except Kapil Dev, who fought back with 36 runs during his stint at the crease. In the end, the Indians folded up for 216, marking their second straight loss in the tournament.

Sir Viv Richards was the undoubted choice for the man-of-the-match award, for his knock that included six fours and a towering six.

Kapil Dev on his way to a blazing 175 not out

India's Game #5: vs Zimbabwe, Group Stage

When people speak generally on World Cup 1983, there are two Indian matches that are always mentioned. One is of course the epic finale encounter, while the other one is "the game against Zimbabwe". Zimbabwe was never so much of a big deal, but if you have read through the previous four pages, you will definitely know how India held a precarious position by the end of their fourth game, having won twice and lost twice. Only two teams progressed to the semis from either groups, and India needed to win this one to have even a faint chance of making it to the next stage.

Winning the toss, India went in to bat first, aiming on a huge total. But by the end of the ninth over, the scoreboard read 9 runs for the fall of four wickets. In a few more overs, the fifth wicket also fell, at 17 runs. On one end was Kapil Dev, and that marked the point where he began to single-handedly tear down the opposition, receiving the little support he could hope for from his tail-enders. The most remarkable innings that world had witnessed until then, took place on that day as Kapil raced to an individual score of 175 not out off just 138 balls, a knock that featured 16 fours and 6 sixes, as the team concluded at 266/8 in 60 overs, a fightable target if not a sure-shot one, and at that point it was much more than what they would have hoped for, at 17/5. If five wickets fell for 17, the next three wickets fell for 249 runs.

The Zimbabweans were, however in no mood to give up. Despite the occasional wicket, they managed to hold on, keeping a close watch on the target at hand. Kevin Curran batted beautifully, scoring 73. He was ably supported for short periods by the likes of Duncan Fletcher, Andy Pycroft and Dave Houghton, who all fell in their 20s. In the end, Kapil Dev himself completed a catch off his own bowling, to dismiss 11th man John Traicos, handing India a 35-run win to keep hopes alive. Kapil was also the man-of-the-match, with his 175 not out remaining a World-Cup record of highest individual total until 2007, when Matthew Hayden smashed a 181 to rewrite the record in his name.

Yashpal Sharma batting against Australia

India's Game #6: vs Australia, Group Stage

If losing two games in a row drained a lot of hope from the Indians, the win against Zimbabwe helped in restoring it a little bit, as the Indians found themselves facing the Australians for a second time, soon afterwards. At 3 wins and 2 losses, India were tied to second place in the group with Australia, and the win actually decided who went into the next stage of the tournament.

It was equal pressure for both the Indians and the Australians from a tournament-point-of-view, but according to the Indians they had exceeded their own expectations already, and that helped in reducing the effect of the pressure on them - which helped, as evident from the end result, as the Aussies literally crumbled in front of the Indian brigade.

Winning the toss, India opted to bat first, as for the first time in the whole tournament, every Indian batsman exhibited a good batting display, most of them scoring in the 20s or above. Yashpal Sharma top-scored once again with 40 off 40, while Sandeep Patil scored 30 off 25. The duo's middle order partnership proved vital as India went on to score 247 runs in 60 overs. The Aussie bowlers bowled 37 extras.

The real Indian display came in the second innings, with clinical displays from Madan Lal (4 for 20 in 8.2) and Roger Binny (4 for 29 in 8) cleaned up the Aussies for 129 runs in 38.2 overs. The 118 run margin of win for the Indians was their highest so far against Aussies till date. Roger Binny was adjudged Man-of-the-match for his four wickets and 21 runs while batting first.

The win meant that India will go on to the semifinals along with Windies from Group B, while Pakistan and England advanced from Group A. India were to face England in the first semi-final.

A still from

the India

vs England semi-finals, World Cup 1983

India's Game #7: vs England, Semi Finals

As India faced hosts England in the semis, expectations on the minnow side had started sky-rocketing. After all, they had trumped Windies and the Aussies on separate occasions to book their place in the final four. The English were, however, no minnows by their own means, and they were looking to seal a World Cup win in their own home, after having been quite strong throughout the length of the tournament.

England won the toss, and owing to their batting strength, elected to bat first. At 69/0, openers Graeme Fowler (33 off 59) and Chris Tavare (32 off 51) had provided England a solid start, but with Tavare falling to Roger Binny, wickets started falling frequently, as his replacements failed to convert their good starts. Allan Lamb (29 off 58) provided some support in the middle overs, only to be run-out by Yashpal Sharma.

The English innings finally ended prematurely, at 213 for 10, in 60 overs. Kapil Dev was once again the pick of the bowlers, picking up three wickets for 35 runs in 11 overs.

An efficient batting display from Yashpal Sharma (61 off 115), Sandeep Patil (51 off 32) and Mohinder Amarnath (46 off 92) meant that India reached the shores of victory with four wickets and nearly six overs to spare. Mohinder Amarnath was named the player of the match for his all-round contribution, also picking up 2/27 with the ball earlier on.

The loss meant that England were out of the competition, failing to win the World Cup from home for a successive third time. The win also paved way for the possibility of Indians to face neighbours and arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals. However, it was not to be as the Paks were defeated by a stellar performance form the Windies, as the stage was set for a third India-Windies contest, in the same World Cup.

Fans rushing to the ground after the game. You can also see the last departing pair of Windies batsmen

India's Game #8: vs Windies, Final

It all boiled down to this. The final. The epic face-off between defending champions on the quest to retaining their trophy, thereby completing a hat-trick of wins, with the other team looking to overthrow their tough opponents, and to win the title for the first time ever, putting their tag of minnows to rest, once and forever. Either way, the game would mark an extraordinary historic moment.

The two times that India faced Windies in the tournament, one victory each belonged to either teams. While India started and ended their group stage on a high, the loss to India was the only low that the Windies faced. Having never looked backed since it was a one-way road to the finals for them.

Winning the toss, the Windies captain Clive Lloyd decided that Indians will bat first. His decision was justified when, 55 overs later, the Indians ended their innings at just 183 runs, just eight runs more than what Kapil Dev managed all alone against Zimbabwe. Kris Srikanth's 38 off 57 balls was the highest score in the innings. Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil scored in the high 20s, and the contribution of the others amounted to the rest. Andy Roberts picked up three wickets for 32 runs while Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Larry Gomez picked up two wickets each.

Kris Srikanth batting in the finals

For a line-up that comprised of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and so on, the target of 184 was easily attainable. Or so, thought everyone. What happened in the next few hours was extraordinary, as the famed Windies batting line-up were made to return to the pavilion for just 140 runs.

Viv Richards top-scored with 33 runs, but no one else gave him any support at all. The Indians in turn, bowled brilliantly. Mohinder Amarnath (7 overs, 12 runs) and Madan Lal (12 overs, 31 runs) taking three wickets each to top the bowling charts. Mohinder Amarnath was made man-of-the-match once again, just like in the semi-finals.

Kapil Dev presented with the trophy

India thus took home their first ever World Cup on the 25th of June, 1983, thereby earning their place among the best teams in the game.

28 years later, India would win it again, in their home soil, but by then they had become arguably the best sides to ever walk the face of the earth. As many people from their generation can vouch for, the cricketing revolution was brought forward by the surprise win of 1983, after which cricket began to be taken more seriously, which helped the youngsters to come into the game more and more, resulting in all the achievements that India has achieved since then.

In less than another year, the 2019 edition of the Cricket World Cup will begin, as England are hosts once again. Crores of Indians all over the world hope that India will be able to replicate their recent successes in the big stages and bring home a third title.