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

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!