Indian Cricket's tryst with Destiny

1983 World Cup Team IndiaMy 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.

Kapil DevIt 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.1983 Winning Moments

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.

1983 World Cup NewspaperA 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.Kapil and Amarnath

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.

Kapil and DhoniToday 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?

Recent Comments
5 1 vote
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Hafiz
Hafiz
4 years ago

Loved it.

Related blog posts

Ego is the enemy

Cricket fans especially from India are having a joy ride like no other. Accepted that the team lost out in the WTC finals but the consistency of this

Read More
Goodbye to an unsung hero

Everyone is born with their own destiny. You can't change it. But you can't cry over it too. You just need to accept the facts, give your best shot an

Read More
The Golden Boy in Indian Cricket

The year 2007 started with heartbreak with India bowing out of the Cricket World Cup in the very first round to make it the worst performance by an In

Read More
Kane is Able: Rumblings of The 12th Man

In the end, it didn't ache like the way it ached in 2019. I don't know why but probably because somewhere down the line, I always felt that New Zealan

Read More
The Countdown towards the World Test Championship Finals

The heartbreak of the 2019 World Cup loss in the semi-finals was a real one because India played really well going up to the semi-finals! But then s

Read More

Subscribe

Get top posts delivered to your inbox

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x