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The class of 1983

Historic moment Kapil’s devils with the cup, the captain with Jimmy Amarnath with the cup and the jubilant members of the Indian team run back to the pavilion after the fall of the last wicket

On June 25, 1983, close to midnight, as ‘king’ (Vivian Richards) top edged a short delivery from Madan Lal to mid- wicket and the Indian captain Kapil Dev ran about 30 yards backwards to pull off a stunning catch, the scent of an Indian victory drifted into the nostrils of the Indian players and the 100-crore people back at home.

The former Rector of Andhra University and cricket commentator, A. Prasanna Kumar, in an article in a newspaper, quoted that the catch was the ‘costliest skier’ in the history of one-day cricket, as it cost the West Indies their third successive world cup victory. While a plundering Richard miscued the pull-shot, Kapil paaji sprinted backwards to take the catch, as if his life was at stake. That catch changed the complexion of the game and the moment Jimmy (Mohinder) Amarnath trapped Michael Holding leg before wicket, it was all over for the fancied West Indian team. India won the Prudential World Cup to become the world champions. It was the most historic moment for sports in India when Kapil and his boys held aloft the Prudential Cup from the balcony of the pavilion in Lords, the Mecca of Cricket.

From nowhere in the contention to becoming the world champion was not a fluke. Kapil’s motley crew demonstrated grit, teamwork and played some excellent cricket. They created a record by beating a team that was then called as ‘Lloyd’s world beaters’. They defeated a team that boasted of the most dangerous batsmen in the form of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and Larry Gomes, and a fast bowling line-up that was considered to be the most lethal and brutal.

“Defending a modest total of 183 runs in 60 overs (then ODI was for 60 overs) was no easy task. But Kapil’s devils had done it successfully. Even if we win a world cup in the coming years, the 1983 Prudential Cup would stand out to be a historic and a memorable one. It changed the tone and the approach towards the game not only in India, but also in the sub-continent. It made the country proud and instilled a feeling that even we can achieve something,” says the former Andhra cricket captain, M.N. Ravi Kumar.

Prof. Prasanna Kumar in his book ‘Game of Memories’ rightly quotes: “Two things stand out foremost in one’s mind as one reflects on the glorious win. Not since the midnight of August 14, 1947, when ‘India made a tryst with destiny’ has there been such national rejoicing at the midnight hour, as on June 25, 1983. Kapil Dev, Kirmani, Balwinder Singh Sandhu and Roger Binny are not symbols of a fragile secularism, but members of a champion side that did the nation proud. They are not because one is a Hindu, the other a Muslim, the third a Sikh and the fourth an Anglo-Indian, but because they are all Indian first and foremost.”

Kapil’s assorted team was considered to be minnows from the very beginning of the tournament. “The team members were termed as bits and pieces cricketers, but as the tournament progressed they turned out to be fine all-rounders and each member contributed to the success,” says the former Andhra captain.

Prof. Prasanna Kumars adds that it was a combination of teamwork, hard work and some intelligent cricket. “The captain led from the front. Kapil’s 175 not out from 138 balls against Zimbabwe at the Tunbridge Wells ground, is still considered as the greatest knock in the shorter version of the game. Five chips down for 17 runs, and then his blitzkrieg, was the turning point in the tournament. Many of his teammates later acknowledged that the champion knock not only lifted the sagging morale of the team, but also suggested that ‘even we can make it’. The 1983 victory was symbolic of the rise of youth power in the country.”

Former state cricketer T. Mahesh says that the win was the biggest motivating factor even at the local level. “We were in our prime then and it was booster for us. It turned out to be the stepping stone for many a budding cricketer.”

The luxury of television was restricted to a few cities in the country then, and Kakinada seems to have scored ahead of Visakhapatnam in this regard. The former professor recollects that many from neighbouring towns and districts trooped to Kakinada to see the finals. He reminisces, “The setting in every house in Kakinada must be like the setting in every Indian home having a television, with the young squatting on the floor and sneaking into the corners of the hall and the elderly glued to the chairs, as the ladies of the house acted as cheer leaders for the viewers by bringing cups of tea and coffee in addition to snacks. Such goodwill and bonhomie among total strangers was something not seen in the recent past. It was cricket, lovely cricket that brought them all together. And finally after the win, it was nightlong celebration at home, in the streets and in the clubs.”

Though Vizagites fell short of a visual delight, they made it good with the radio.

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