The series that transformed cricket in India

Cricket might not be the national sport of India but it is certainly the most popular sport in the country. The shorter version of the game has gained a huge number of spectators in the country and it will be a misnomer to call cricket as a sport in India.

Popularity of cricket sky-rocketed after 1983 World Cup

When India participated in the World Cup of 1983, the chances for the 'men in blue' emerging as a champion were bleak. However, the underdogs played exceptional cricket under the leadership of Kapil Dev and lifted the coveted trophy. The aftermath of the event saw massive growth in the number of followers of the game in India. Cricket rapidly climbed up on the popularity chart of the Indians and became a blockbuster in every street of the country.

The Benson and Hedges World Championship of 1985, ignited the spark induced after the World Cup win and cricket prevailed as a religion there-after in India. The tournament featured seven teams namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The host Australia and the mighty West Indies were anticipated to make it to the finals, on a contrary though neither of the teams succeeded in their attempts.

Sunil Gavaskar led team India made a promising start to the tournament by winning all the three league matches comprehensively. The Indian team looked invincible right from their first game of the World Championship of cricket.

Pakistan surprisingly managed to beat Australia and England in the league matches and made it to the top four along with the arch-rivals India, along with West Indies and the Kiwis. The Chances of an India- West Indies final appeared bright, however Pakistan produced the major upset of the tournament by beating West Indies comprehensively in the semi-final game. The final of the tournament witnessed a massive attendance of over 35,000 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket ground.

The final game

Pakistan after winning the toss, elected to bat first in the day/night game. The Haryana Hurricane, Kapil Dev with his outstanding bowling effort had reduced Pakistan to 33 for 4 in the early part of the innings, after which Imran Khan and Javed Miandad stitched a 68 run partnership for the 5th Wicket. Pakistan made a decent recovery and managed to put a respectable total of 176 on the scoreboard. This was the first instance in the tournament when the Indian bowlers failed to bowl out the opposition.

The Indian openers, Ravi Shastri and Krishnamachari Srikkanth crafted a century plus stand for the first wicket, taking India within touching distance from lifting the coveted trophy. Shastri remained not out on 63 and ensured an Indian win at the MCG. He was adjudged the player of the tournament for his tremendous show both with the bat and ball throughout the series. Ravi Shastri was awarded an Audi 100 motor car, which he immediately drove around the MCG with all his team members on board, the picturesque scene became the face of Indian cricket for decades.

Indian team being driven around in Ravi Shastri's Audi

This team was declared as the Indian team of the century by Wisden. The wicketkeeper Sadanand Vishwanath who was a part of the winning team, in a recent interview said that "It was an all-time high for the country when Kapil’s (Dev) Devils won us the World Cup in 1983. The importance of that victory is unmistakable as the nation was changing and cricket played a major role in that period. However, after that triumph, we lost to the West Indies at home. But, we did regain our composure and under Sunny bhai’s[Sunil Gavaskar] captaincy. In 1985, we lost a series against England, where I made my debut in the one-day series. So, going into the adventure Down Under, no one gave us a chance, considering the background. However, there was absolutely no pressure on us as we were playing away from home."