1983 World Cup Anniversary: A day that changed Cricket’s views on India

On this day 39 years ago, in 1983, Team India defeated the heavily favoured West Indies to claim their first ODI World Cup victory. The Lord’s victory by the team led by Kapil Dev altered the course of Indian cricket.

In 1983, India captain Kapil Dev said, “Let’s battle it out, lads,” as he entered the changing room after his team had scored 183 runs in the thrilling World Cup final match against the formidable West Indies.

By dismissing the West Indies innings for 140 while defending 183, the Indian bowlers earned a 43-run victory and the national championship for their nation.

In the pivotal match against the West Indies, Gordon Greenidge was taken out by Balwinder Sandhu for just one run.

At home, cricket turned into a national obsession, and the rest of the world was forced to accept that Asian sides could win the World Cup.

The pre-tournament favourites were the West Indies, England, and Australia. And against all odds, India triumphed, defeating England and the West Indies in the semifinals and championship matches, respectively.

India faced off against Australia and the West Indies twice during the group stage, recording one win and one loss against each of the two heavies. But in the quarterfinal, when they overcame Zimbabwe by 31 runs thanks to a Kapil Dev special, they achieved their most famous and series-defining victory.

 

KAPIL DEV: THE TOURNAMENT’S HIGHEST IMPACT PLAYER

Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 off 138 deliveries against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells (from 9 for 4 to 17 for 5) was the second most influential batting effort in India’s ODI history (after Rohit Sharma’s world-record 264). He survived the pressure of wickets dropping all around him, revived the innings, and still ended up scoring at a rate that was significantly faster than the average for the game.

 

The second-highest partnership for the ninth wicket in ODI history, which Kapil and Syed Kirmani achieved, was 126 runs. He contributed 65.78 percent of India’s total runs during the game, which is still the second-highest percentage in ODI history behind Viv Richards’ 189 runs (out of West Indies’ 272 in Manchester in 1984).

Kapil was the most constricted bowler in the game, allowing just 32 runs in his 11 overs. His efforts went a long way in keeping the Zimbabwean batsmen in check and ultimately led to a crucial 31-run victory for India. His batting performance was so shocking that his bowling performance in the game was completely forgotten.

This capacity to bowl tight spells and also have a high economy impact—basically, give up runs at a lower rate than the match average—defines Kapil’s effectiveness with the ball throughout the tournament. He bowled up to 4 maidens and kept a tight rein on the batsmen, allowing just 21 runs in his 11 overs while defending a pitiful 183 against the West Indies in the championship game.

He was India’s most efficient bowler, and in four of the tournament’s eight games, he had an economy rate of under three. His tournament economy rate of 2.91 was much lower than the 3.74 average rate for all fast bowlers.

Kapil competed in 8 matches during the competition and never lost a game. He scored with a strike rate of 108.99, which was the second-highest (minimum 100 runs) of the World Cup behind Rod Marsh. He was the fifth-highest run scorer. In addition, he took 12 wickets.

Along with this, he displayed excellent fielding skills by sprinting back to grab Viv Richards, which was possibly the single most important event in Indian cricket history. Kapil Dev was the best all-around player of the tournament when you consider his inspired leadership, which led India to a historic victory.

 

SANDEEP PATIL WAS THE TOURNAMENT’S MOST EFFECTIVE INDIAN BATSMAN

According to Impact Index, a holistic and thorough cricket analytical system that measures a player’s contribution relative to other players’ contributions in the match, giving context to every performance, Sandeep Patil emerged as the most impactful Indian batsman of the 1983 World Cup. Sandeep Patil was only the fourth-highest run-getter for India and was ranked 16th in the Runs Tally.

Patil’s strike rate in the competition was 90, which was significantly higher than the benchmark (200+ runs) of 66.36. The most fearsome opposition bowlers, including Roberts, Marshall, Garner, Holding, Willis, and Botham, to name a few, were the targets of his counterattacks.

He produced defining performances in the semifinal match against England (51 off 32 deliveries) and the virtual quarterfinal match against Australia (30 off 25 deliveries), as well as supporting ones in the championship match against the West Indies (27 off 29 deliveries).

 

MADAN LAL, THE TOURNAMENT’S BEST BOWLER

In eight of the tournament’s encounters, Lal consistently failed to pick up a wicket, while 11 of his 17 dismissals came from prominent opposition batsmen (in positions 1-5). Like Patil, he improved in the crucial contests—the knockout rounds. He was at his best when he returned to the championship match versus Australia, where he scored 4-20 in 8.2 overs. He removed Haynes against the flow of play and with the West Indies leading the game, thus altering the outcome of the contest. Seven runs later, he won the prized wicket of Viv Richards. He soon saw the back of Gomes after shattering the West Indian middle order. Momentum changed. India had the advantage.

Madan Lal finished the competition as the player with the second-highest impact.

 

MUHINDER AMARNATH, THE 3RD IMPACT PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT

In reality, the tournament’s third-highest impact player, after Madan Lal and Kapil Dev, was the Man of the Match in the semifinal and championship games.

Amarnath put up two outstanding all-around performances in the two most important games of the competition. In the semi-final at Manchester, he secured the important dismissals of Gower, the World Cup’s leading run-getter, and Gatting, who gave up just 27 runs in his 12 overs before leading the chase with a tenacious 46 off 92 pitches. At Lord’s, he patiently scored 26 runs before returning with the ball to dismiss Dujon and break a potentially hazardous 43-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Before taking Holding’s final wicket to lead India to a spectacular victory, he quickly dismissed Marshall.

However, Amarnath also struggled with the bat in 4 of the tournament’s 8 games, which lessened his overall effect and forced him to trail Kapil and Lal. Therefore, it is not unexpected that his bowling influence in the competition was only 3% smaller than his hitting impact.

 

YASHPALSHARMA: THREE STANDOUT PERFORMANCE IN THREE IMPORTANT GAMES

Yashpal Sharma led India in scoring in three significant matches during the tournament. He contributed significantly to India’s upset victory over the two-time defending World Cup champions by scoring 89 runs off 120 deliveries in their opening match at Old Trafford against the West Indies. This victory gave the team confidence and served as their inspiration for the remainder of the competition.

Then, in the virtual quarterfinal at Chelmsford, he defeated Australia with a rapid run-a-ball 40 before making a patient 61 off 115 balls to defeat England in the semifinal, tempering his natural attacking style and adapting to the circumstances.

Sharma’s contribution to Indian cricket was his excellent big-match attitude in the biggest competition in his nation’s cricketing history.

 

ROGER BINNY: SELECTING THE BEST OPPOSITION WICKETS ON A CONSTANT BASIS

With 18 wickets from 8 matches at an average of 18.66 each, Roger Binny led all World Cup wicket-takers. The standard of his firing was what stood out. He took 14 of the opposition batsmen in the top-middle order (positions 1-6), including the wickets of Lloyd (twice), Richards, and Border, among others.

He was incredibly reliable, taking at least one wicket in each of the eight matches he participated in.

Binny put on two outstanding performances: 3-48 against the West Indies in the first match, which included the dismissals of Richards and Lloyd; and 4-29 against Australia at Chelmsford, where he ran through their top order, sending back Wood, Hookes, and Yallop one after the other, completely derailing their chase.

 

 

 

A COMPLETE TEAM FROM INDIA MOVES

The 1983 World Cup trip was a team effort, even if there were some outstanding individual efforts. India’s historic victory could not have been achieved without it.

As many as 11 of the 13 Indian players who competed in the tournament had an impact of greater than 1, and 6 of them had an impact of greater than 2. This basically means that 6 Indian players performed the duties of more than 2 players, and 5 of them performed duties equivalent to at least one player. This kind of team effort is exceptional and uncommon!

It’s interesting to note that Gavaskar and Vengsarkar, two of cricket’s greatest batsmen, were the only two players to punch considerably below their weight and have an impact of less than 1. Gavaskar, who participated in only two matches, had a miserable tournament, scoring only 59 runs in his six matches.

 

 

SRIKKANTH’S HIGH SCORE AND GAMBHIR’S LIKELIHOOD

Against Pakistan in the WT20 final in Johannesburg in 2007 and Sri Lanka in the World Cup final in Mumbai in 2011, Gautam Gambhir led the way for India with the highest score.

While most cricket experts are familiar with Gambhir’s exceptional record, the accomplishment had actually been accomplished by an Indian batsman more than two decades prior.