Indian Cricket's tryst with Destiny

My mother used to be always in tension when my father was late from work. Those days communication was a challenge. I am talking of my childhood days of the 80’s. It’s a different matter that the “tension” was a mental problem which continued till my Father breathed last.

Anyways, it was past 9 PM that day and my father was not yet home. I expected my mother to be tense. She had this habit of standing at the doorstep if my Father was late – but that day there was no visible tension. She served me dinner and when I asked where Dad was, she answered that he was at the club and that he would be late. You have your dinner and go to sleep, she said. What was my father doing at the club at 9 PM I didn’t understand.

Anyways, I finished my dinner and went to sleep. I didn’t know when I fell asleep but I was awakened suddenly with a bursting of crackers. I didn’t realise if I was in Dreamland because it was neither Mahalaya nor Diwali. Anyways, I could realise that my Father was back and having dinner. I went back to sleep thinking I will ask him about these crackers the next day.

It was a Sunday next day and I woke up late. Surprise! Surprise, I woke up to see a wooden bat lying just beside me. Once again I thought maybe I am dreaming! I had been asking for a wooden bat for the last few months – those days if you had a bat yourself then your chance of getting to bat early was high hence the need for a wooden bat – and to see that in reality was like a dream come true.

So here I was bat in hand and off I walked into the living room where my parents were having their morning tea. I was about to ask my parents when the doorbell rang. My father went to open the door and in came 2 of my father’s closest friends. They handed over a packet to my mother and told her, “Boudi, today mutton curry and rice for lunch”. More confusion for me. If it was today I could have rechristened myself as Confusion.com – too many things were happening which was getting me surprised.

Anyways, as everyone settled down, I asked what’s going on? Then my Father told me that India won the Cricket World Cup yesterday beating the mighty West Indies.

Though I understood cricket but as a 7 year old my understanding about Cricket was “Test Cricket” because I used to see my Father listening to the radio commentary for 5 long days. So I didn’t connect what the World Cup meant. As a child, “Test” means exam so winning a “Test” means passing the exam or winning but then what is the World Cup?, I thought. Then I was explained that “Test” Cricket was one format of the game and the World Cup was played in a different format (Those days it was played across 60 Overs each side).

So that’s my only personal memory of India winning the Cricket World Cup for the first time on 25th June 1983. It is a good memory no doubt, I got my first wooden bat and for that, along with thanking my father I also thank Kapil and his Devils who did the unthinkable of beating the West Indies to lift the cup.

A year later one of my uncles gave me a book titled, “Idols” written by Sunil Gavaskar. There I read a lot about the World Cup with Sunny describing not only Kapil Dev’s magnificent 175 Not Out but also the catch taken by him to dismiss Viv Richards. I became a die hard fan of cricket after reading that book.

Few years later before the 1987 Reliance World Cup, we got our first TV at home and for the very first time I was able to watch the highlights of the 1983 World Cup Final. Even today when I watch that match it gives me goosebumps. Scoring a paltry 183 and then defending that score aplomb against the world’s best side was truly like David slaying the Goliath.

The 1983 World Cup team had Sunil Gavaskar as the most experienced team member but his record in Limited Overs Cricket was not good. But what defined the team was the plethora of allrounders. Just imagine that a player of Kirmani’s standard used to bat at 8 or 9 in the lineup. Many of the batsmen like Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, Yashpal Sharma not only batted in the top order but used to bowl as well. Infact Mohinder Amarnath was the Man of the Match in the final for the 3 wickets he took.

In the previous 2 editions of the World Cups in 1975 & 1979, India cumulatively won only 1 match and that also against East Africa so when the 1983 World Cup began one can imagine why nobody gave India a chance.

But, Kapil and his team went against all odds and changed the perception not only of the cricketing world but also the cricket watching people in India. This team brought renewed hope to India in general because it showed that if you put your heart and soul into something then magic happens. And 1983 was the magical turn that Indian cricket needed.

Today India has won multiple world tournaments and are sitting atop the Test Cricket ladder but the dream of many Indian budding cricketers were formed on that night of 1983!

Thank You Kapil and your team for giving us a moment which will be remembered forever. As India celebrates the 37th Anniversary of our first World Cup win, a big Thank You to Kapil Dev and the team for making people believe that one can create his own destiny.

So what do you fondly remember about India’s 1983 World Cup win?

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