Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the great event that changed the face of Indian cricket forever - the stunning win in the 1983 World Cup. The story of how underdogs India downed the mighty West Indian cricketing juggernaut to register the biggest surprise in the annals of cricket history has been told and retold on numerous occasions. The various twists and turns that took place during the course of that exciting game and the nail-biting suspense it produced, which finally ended with the wild exhilaration of victory, would remain etched in the minds of everyone who was fortunate to experience it. It was, simply put, the “mother of all victories”.
There was an equally significant win that the Indian side had registered just a couple of days before this historic triumph but it finds only a passing mention when the story of 1983 ICC World Cup is told. This was the victory over England, the hosts, who were generally considered to be the second strongest side in limited overs cricket in the world at that point. It was widely believed that if there was any side that was capable of surprising the West Indies, it could only be the hosts. In the league matches, England had won five of their six games, with the solitary loss coming at the hands of New Zealand by a narrow margin of two wickets. On the other hand, India had, after starting the World Cup with a surprise win over the West Indies, fumbled midway through, losing two matches in succession, before Kapil Dev saved their blushes with a brilliant unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe. The team gained in strength after that and qualifiesdfor the last four, with a comfortable win against Australia in the last pool match.
Thus, the odds were heavily in favour of England, when Bob Willis and Kapil walked out for the toss on a dull cloudy morning at Old Trafford, Manchester. The decision of England to bat first appeared to be paying dividends when openers Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare put on 69 runs, at a scoring rate of more than four runs in an over. Finally, the late movement that Roger Binny could generate off the pitch that led to the dismissals of both batsmen. While Tavare left first caught behind the wicket by Syed Kirmani, Fowler was bowled soon afterwards by one that squeezed in between the bat and pad to uproot his stumps. This brought to the wicket David Gower and Alan Lamb, two batsmen who possessed the technique and temperament to push the score along briskly.
By this time, it was evident that pitch was very slow paced and not conducive to strokeplay as the ball was not coming on to the bat. At this juncture, Kapil made a bowling change that shifted the course of the game. Instead of using his regular bowlers, he tossed the ball to Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad, who started bowing in tandem. Amarnath bowling at military medium-pace off a lazy ambling run up kept the batsmen guessing, both by clever variations in pace and movement in the air and off the wicket. He soon had the dangerous Gower poke at one that left him late to be caught brilliantly by Kirmani. Lamb, in an attempt to shake off the shackles imposed by the tight bowling of Azad, attempted a risky run, only to find himself short of the crease when a direct throw from Yashpal Sharma hit the stumps.
Mike Gatting followed soon afterwards when his stumps were shattered by a beauty of a delivery from Amarnath that swung in late. Ian Botham, who had made mincemeat of the Indian bowlers the previous season, could not get the ball off the square and perished, when he was bowled neck and crop by a delivery from Azad. Amarnath and Azad made excellent use of the conditions, bowled the ball at the right pace and kept it in proper places, denying the batsmen the width and freedom to play their strokes. From a comfortable 106/2, England tumbled to 160/6, which left their innings in disarray. With the benefit of hindsight, one can state that it was the tight bowling of this duo that swung the match India’s way after the visitors made an indifferent start to the match.
With all their frontline batsmen back in the pavilion, there was little that the rest in the England line up could do. Though Graham Dilley struck a few lusty blows to take the total score past 200, there was an air of despondency as they kept losing wickets. Kapil, who had come for a final spell, cleaned up the tail, picking up three wickets, as England were dismissed for 213.
When India batted, Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth began watchfully and took the score to 46 when the former was dismissed. Srikkanth too fell soon after, at which point Yashpal joined Amarnath at the crease. The duo batted carefully, eschewing all risks as the bowlers tried all tricks up their sleeve to get a breakthrough. The score inched forward, crossed 100 but the tight bowling ensured that scoring rate was not high. Yashpal counterattacked in an attempt break the control exerted by the bowlers and succeeded in hitting two sixes off Paul Allott and Willis. But , even as Indian fans were beginning to breathe a bit easier, disaster struck as Amarnath got run out, with the score still short of the 150-run mark.
Thus, the game was tantalisingly poised when Sandeep Patil walked out of the pavilion to join Yashpal in the middle. Willis returned for a second spell, hoping to pick up a couple of quick wickets, which would have swung the game England’s way. But it had the opposite effect on Patil for who the sight of Willis charging in to bowl was akin to that caused to a bull by the red rag. He tore into Willis and struck the deliveries sent down by him to all parts of the ground. He raced to his fifty off a mere 32 balls and even the fall of Yashpal, a consolation wicket to Willis, could not stop him in his tracks. Winning runs that took India to the finals were deservedly struck by Patil in the 55th over.
Though it is the win over the West Indies in the final that is remembered more by fans of the game in the country, the victory in semifinals was an emphatic one. England were the favourites to win this match and boasted of a side that had such performers as Botham, Gower, Gatting and Lamb, besides skipper Willis. In comparison, India looked definitely weaker with little firepower either in batting or bowling. But the bowlers succeeded in pinning down the famed batsmen of the host country and the batsmen rose to the challenge by executing a well planned run chase. In the end, there was no doubt as to which was the better side as India had succeeded in outclassing England in all departments of the game.
Finally, a word about Kapil’s captaincy. He had taken over the mantle from Gavaskar after the ill-fated tour of Pakistan in early 1983. The series against the West Indies that followed did not give much room for showing his skills as a skipper. Though he managed the side quite well during the initial phases of the World Cup, it was only during the semifinal that he could bring his stamp to the way things were done on the field. The decision to use Amarnath and the innocuous off spin of Azad during the middle overs was a masterstroke. It was a such a brilliant and unexpected move that it caught even Botham, one of the most natural strikers of the ball, off guard. In the 24 overs they bowled, the duo conceded only 55 runs, with the wickets of Gower, Gatting and Botham as added bonus! India owed this win as much to Kapil’s shrewd and deft handling of the resources at his command as the performances of other players.
The win over England will remain in the memory of followers of cricket of my generation as the match which showed that India had well and truly arrived as a strong side in limited overs cricket.
(The author is a former international cricket umpire and a senior bureaucrat)
