The 1983 World Cup final: Where it all began for Indian cricket

What a day it was! A revolution in Indian cricket, an unexpected change of tide, that took Indian cricket forward. The revolution that started thirty years ago has yielded abundant changes in the way we perceive cricket today. “Cricket is our religion” and this was the moment of divinity that rendered the necessary belief.

The day, 25^th of June, 1983, would be etched on the minds of millions of fans, each moment of the game would have been devoured by the eyes of the Indian youngsters back in the day, when India, a seemingly low performing team, rose up magnificently to get the better of reigning world champions, West Indies.

That victory could be termed the best of our victories, even better than winning the ‘07 and ’11 World Cups since India was a relatively unknown team in cricket. One can go as far as to say that we were the punching bags, a source of easy victories for the other teams. The ’83 team did not possess the worldly luxuries that the current team enjoys. There were no extensive practice sessions, no analysis of opponents’ strength and weaknesses using the technology, no flashy equipment, no infrastructure and no finances that could be termed satisfying enough.

A dynamic skipper and a hungry team was all that we boasted off as we marched to face the might of West Indies. I could only wonder what would have happened had India lost this match. Would I revere the Indian cricket team like I do today? Would it have the same kind of mad following that it does? Well, maybe. We did discover the Little Master in the latter years and the kind of players we have now would have indeed drawn fans to this game, but it all started on this very same day thirty years ago.

The Big Finals: (a viewer’s account)

As a youngster, I was excited about the upcoming final. India, the underdogs, were up against the cricketing might of our time and I felt that India would be under immense pressure going into the match. Televisions weren’t a norm in every household and we had to gather at a friend’s place to catch the young brigade in action.

The West Indies skipper, Clive Lloyd, won the toss and put India into bat, after considering the strengths of bowlers who could blow away any kind of opposition with disdain. The bowling consisted of Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding – names that are revered and considered as one of the best even today. The conditions were typically English and the home of cricket, Lord’s, was all set for the extravaganza.

India had a poor start to the match as they lost their best batsman, Sunil Gavaskar to the bowling of the fiery Andy Roberts, wicket-keeper Dujon taking the catch. It was an intense start from the West Indians and the wicket of Gavaskar meant that we were on the back foot right from the beginning. The West Indian bowlers were breathing fire and the batsmen were peppered with a variety of hostile deliveries.

Our hopes were diminished from that moment, before Kris Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath steadied the ship to an extent. We struggled till the end before the West Indians bowled us out for a paltry 183.

All hopes were lost and there were dejected faces looking back at us all around, as we knew that the might of the West Indian batting that included the likes of Richards, Greenidge, Haynes and the skipper Lloyd himself, would be too much for the brittle Indian bowling line up. Apart from Dev, we trusted no one and an ordinary day for him would mean that India would be defeated meekly.

Most of us wanted to quit the match as we realized that India would not be winning after the batting debacle. Few of our friends left the place and others were merely waiting for the formalities to end.

As a viewer who had seen both the ’83 and ’11 final, I rate the 1983 final as the better one, for it had all the ingredients for a perfect World Cup final. It was the story of David versus Goliath and till the final wicket fell, no one was sure of the outcome.

The West Indies batting suffered a jolt as an unlikely Sandhu broke the stumps of Gordon Greenidge, one of the batting greats of that time. But that would never be enough, even as our hopes lifted, albeit a little. But it did not last too long. Vivian Richards walked out at number three and made sure that our hopes were crushed. He unleashed a range of fiery strokes that made the best of our fielders run for cover.

At that moment, though West Indies lost the wicket of Haynes, we felt that victory for India was impossible. The furious hitting of Richards put our bowlers out of the equation. And that is when the miracle happened.

I would consider this moment as the turning point of the match. This was the moment that decided the fate of India and the outcome of the final. Viv Richards hit a shot off Madan Lal’s bowling that went past Kapil Dev at midwicket. He ran back chasing the ball and plucked the ball out of mid-air. The whole room went silent as we realized what Kapil Dev had done. The in-form Richards was back into the pavilion as we regained our composure after the wild celebrations.

That gave us a glimmer of hope. India was well and truly back in the match and the catch by Dev lifted the team’s morale quite visibly. From then on, we could call it “history”, as India won the match with more than seven overs to spare. The result seems unbelievable, even when I reminisce about the match today.

Mohinder Amarnath then made sure that there were no further hiccups as he picked three crucial wickets including that of wicket-keeper Dujon. His performance ensured that India won comfortably and he was rightly chosen as the man of the match for his all-round performance. He was hailed as the hero by the fans as his efforts were crucial to the Indian victory.

Remembering all about the match makes me nostalgic; the moment of victory when we jumped up and down in joy, running around the streets distributing sweets and bursting crackers; things that are pleasant memories today. The “oohs” and “aahs” are still audible to the ears as the ball whizzed past the bat on a number of occasions. Winning over a team like West Indies gave us immense satisfaction and belief in the team.

That was truly a clinical moment after which the craze for the game visibly increased among the fans. The cricketers became heroes and Indian cricket was looked at with respect and gravity. India went on to capture many laurels after that and for all that, I believe this was the start!

What a day it was!