Today (June 25) is the 37th anniversary of India's 1983 World Cup victory. Kapil Dev's team had stunned the mighty West Indies at Lord's to win the World Cup at Lord's
Bengaluru: On this day (June 25) in 1983, India conquered the cricket world. The Kapil Dev-led team, 37 years ago, created history at the iconic Lord’s ground in England by defeating the mighty West Indies to win their maiden World Cup trophy.
The victory by India in the 1983 World Cup final on June 25 changed the sport in the country. From being minnows at the start of the tournament, India stunned the two-time world champions.
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On the 37th anniversary of that famous win, cricketers and fans remembered that day. They took to social media to hail Kapil and his men. Nobody had expected them to win but the Indian side of 14 players believed in themselves and went all the way.
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It all began when India shocked West Indies in their opening league game in Manchester. From then on, there was no looking back. They were in Group B and finished second after the Caribbean side. In the semi-final, they beat England.
When the final came, West Indies won the toss and opted to field first. India were bowled out for 183. It was not a big score to defend but Indian bowlers put up a brave display to bowl out Clive Lloyd’s men for 140.
That triumph inspired a generation of cricketers. Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has said the 1983 World Cup made him take up the sport. "My journey into the World of professional and serious cricket began today, 35 years back. Dreams do come true. Keep chasing them. #WorldCup83 #SportPlayingIndia," Tendulkar had tweeted in 2018.
June 25, 1983 was truly a game-changing moment for Indian cricket. One of the members of that triumphant squad, Syed Kirmani told MyNation that many had called their victory as “fluke” but it was not.
“May termed our 1983 World Cup win as fluke. I don’t agree. We were labelled as minnows but we had self-confidence after winning the first game against the mighty West Indies. From there on we did not look back,” Kirmani said.
1. Sunil Gavaskar, 2. Kris Srikkanth, 3. Mohinder Amarnath, 4. Yashpal Sharma, 5. Sandeep Patil, 6. Kapil Dev (captain), 7. Kirti Azad, 8. Roger Binny, 9. Madan Lal, 10. Syed Kirmani (wicketkeeper), 11. Balwinder Singh Sandhu. Reserves: 12. Ravi Shastri, 13. Dilip Vengsarkar, 14. Sunil Valson. Manager: PR Man Singh.
in 1983, India won their maiden Men's title 🏆
Kapil Dev and his side stunned defending champions West Indies, beating them by 43 runs in a memorable final at Lord's 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DVchvVLH5P
📅 in 1983, 📍 Lord's - History created! led by won the World Cup after beating the mighty West Indies 🏆 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/fKfhICVs5R
— BCCI (@BCCI)
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