Remembering India's 1983 World Cup win

India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup went a long way in defining India as a cricket-crazy nation. The final match of that World Cup, played against the dominant West Indian side that had beaten the entire world and had already won two consecutive World Cups, was virtually a case of David taking on Goliath. Those who were privileged enough to have Doordarshan at their service watched the game with hope but after India put up a meager 183 in the first innings, the signal was lost for a while. It’s an amusing act of fate that nobody in India watched Kapil Dev run 20 yards to take that historic catch of Vivian Richards; perhaps India’s greatest moment ever on the cricket field. Nobody even saw the spectacular innings of 175 he played against Zimbabwe to bail India out from a tricky situation. And yet, 1983 defined India’s sporting career in a fundamental way.

The 30th anniversary of India’s 1983 World Cup win coincides with India’s victory at the Champions Trophy of 2013. It is an achievement that mirrors India’s victory at the Benson and Hedges World Championships of 1985, which was won after the World Cup triumph of 1983. History has repeated itself for this glorious nation.

Perhaps it is difficult to say which was the greater moment: the 1983 World Cup win or the 2011 World Cup win. India defeated a dominant West Indian side in 1983 which had won two consecutive World Cups, MS Dhoni‘s side ended the reign of Australia which had won three previous World Cups. The 1983 World Cup was won at the home of cricket in England at Lord’s; the 2011 triumph came at home at the legendary Wankhede Stadium. It is perhaps unfair to compare, but one feels that the 1983 triumph laid the foundation of all achievements to come.

It is an appropriate moment to recall some of the key moments from that match. Batting first, India’s mainstay batsman in the top order Sunil Gavaskar was sent back to the pavilion in a haste by Andy Roberts, but Kris Srikanth had other plans. The explosive batsman stroked a four and a six off two consecutive bouncers from Andy Roberts to stamp his authority in the face of the famed West Indian hostility. It was not supposed to go on however, as West Indies penetrated the batting line-up, giving the Indian fans only brief bursts of aggression to savour. Sandeep Patil scored a quickfire 27 off 29 balls but was eventually dismissed by Joel Garner. The lower order comprising of Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Syed Kirmani and Madan Lala added some vital runs as India finished with 183 on the board.

Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd, Vivian Richards – it was a stellar West Indian batting side that was supposed to walk all over the small total, but it was not meant to be. India got their first scalp early on in a picture perfect moment as Greenidge folded arms to an inswinging delivery by Balwinder Singh Sandhu. That wicket gave India a ray of hope as the body language changed and India believed that there was more than consolation to be won. Vivian Richards, with the clear intention of finishing India’s hope, stroked the ball freely to reach the score of 33 before it happened.

Viv Richards mistimed a delivery from Madan Lal that went high into the sky. Kapil Dev took that memorable catch, a visual that has been played endlessly on TV screens since then as testament to India’s achievement. Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal were heroes for India on the day as they picked three wickets each to leave West Indies mourning their lost dream of three consecutive World Cup wins. The image of Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup at Lords is one that is cherished by Indian cricket fans as it made a nation believe that it could achieve. That moment onwards, Indian cricket has been following that dream that was lived in 1983, was repeated in 2011 and remembered fondly in 2013.

There are only a few moments in history when sport spills over into the cultural and political life of a nation. One thinks of how the rainbow nation was born out of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and in a sense the 1983 World Cup win was a moment of equal magnitude for India. A fledgling nation stepping out into the world to stand on its own feet, to challenge the world for respect and sovereignty. Sport can only play a part, but it can create an atmosphere of hope and belief and the 1983 World cup did that for India. They were world champions and the nation sung ‘bharata vishwa vijeta‘ as Kapil Dev lifted the World Cup.