1983 World Cup: The Turning Point In Indian Cricket

Cricket is a game of stories. Of remarkable turn arounds and unexpected victories. Of nail-biting draws and low-scoring thrillers. Of whitewashes and underdog champions. One of the greatest underdog stories ever scripted in cricket was India's triumph in the 1983 World Cup, which was then known as the Prudential Cup. Defeating one of the greatest teams to have ever existed in foreign soil with minimal training and under an inexperienced captain is no mean feat. Other than the fact that it was India's first World Cup victory, it was also a turning point in Indian cricket. That win meant so much to fans that, and I quote a journalist, Dean Wilson, "Cricket moved from being a popular sport to the only sport that the Indians were bothered about".

'Kapil's Devils' was the title conferred to the team that indeed paved the way for Indian cricket to develop. Cricket before the 1983 Prudential Cup wasn't as widely televised as it is today. Kapil Dev's mind-blowing 175 against Zimbabwe couldn't be viewed by fans. Television sets themselves weren't as popular in all the corners of the country. India didn't have a rich and powerful cricket board or even good training facilities. Till 1989, England and Australia had veto power in the ICC, meaning that the other countries had little to no role. People didn't see a lot of scope for Indian cricket either and indeed the national team didn't perform well in the first two editions of the World Cup. Older fans will surely want to forget Sunil Gavaskar's traditional, super slow 36*(174) on the opening day of the 1975 World Cup.

But on 25th June 1983, the Men in Blue (rather, white) shattered all those notions by emerging as World Champions. The West Indies were favourites right from the start of the competition and even the Indian players were not confident in their abilities. They came to England, not to win the trophy but simply to enjoy themselves on the field and play to their level best. This fearless brand of cricket and a we-have-nothing-to-lose attitude surprised all their oppositions and ended with a victory rather similar to David defeating Goliath.

Young fans today might not understand the enormity of what happened on that historic day. The West Indies had won the previous two World Cups in a convincing and dominating fashion. Their line-up was one of the fiercest ever. With the likes of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Sir Vivian Richards, Clive Llyod and the best pace quartet of all time. featuring Joel Garner, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts, they were a mighty fine side. The Indian side, though talented, paled in comparison. It was the original Gabbatoir. The first great upset by a set of daring Indians. The beginning of Indian cricket as we know it today.

However, this win was just the start. The confidence gained by the Indian side after being crowned World Champions was just phenomenal. They played aggressively and fearlessly. In 1985, India dominated and won the Benson & Hedges World Championship Trophy, in Australia. Krishnamachari Srikkanth scored the most runs and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan picked up the most wickets in the tournament. Ravi Shasthri was the Champion of Champions and was awarded an Audi car. That image still lingers in the mind of older fans who had only recently gotten access to a television and were seeing such luxurious automobiles for the first time. It might seem insignificant to the younger generations but the awe that they felt propelled them to support Team India more and more.

The 1983 World Cup will continue to remain a tale for the ages. A tale that inspires. The tale of how Indians fell in love with a sport. A tale that still has immense significance and a special spot in the hearts of fans after 38 years.