Kapil Dev relived some of the moments of the 1983 World Cup triumph as India on Tuesday celebrated 30 years of its most famous win. Kapil, who led India to the win, along with his teammates Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, the youngest man in the team, walked down memory lane recalling some of the best memories of the 1983 Prudential World Cup.
‘We were just a bunch of young boys who wanted to have fun. Winning was more fun in the evening and that’s what we started to look out for, how we can enjoy more. The first match itself (against West Indies) gave us a little hope. After that our aim was to make the top four. Every match became more and more serious after that,’ Kapil was quoted as saying by BCCI.tv.
‘We felt the 1983 World Cup changed the entire sport in our country and gave a new dimension to Indian cricket,’ he added.
Shastri said the fact that India had beaten West Indies and Australia in the group stages to reach the semifinal gave them a lot of confidence. After battering Australia by 118 runs, India booked the semi-finals berth and were off to Manchester to take on England in the semi-finals.
‘The fact of the matter was that we had beaten the West Indies and Australia to reach the semi-finals. When we reached Old Trafford for our semifinal game and saw the pitch, we knew we had a very good chance,’ said Shastri. England were dismissed for 213 in 60 overs.
Kapil bagged 3/35 as Roger Binny and Mohinder Amarnath picked two wickets apiece. Yashpal Sharma (61) and Sandip Patil (51 not out) scored fifties and India chased down the target with six wickets to spare.
The Unthinkable had happened. India had made it to the World Cup final. And when Mohinder Amarnath trapped Michael Holding lbw at Lord’s, a new world order was set in style.