June 25, 1983. Kapil Dev led the Indian cricket team to their maiden World Cup triumph on this day, 36 years ago. Team India had stunned the entire world by lifting the World Cup trophy, thrashing the then mighty West Indies by 43 runs in the final at Lord’s.
It was the 1983 World Cup win which boosted Indian cricket in the true sense, reports NDTV. People say that the golden era of Indian cricket started under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, but the foundation was laid down by cricket legend Kapil Dev, under whom India raised their cricketing flag high on this historic day in 1983.
At present, there is a fear among other cricket playing nations whenever they play against India as the team has some big names in it.
But in the past, the scenario was totally different. The team was unrecognized and was not even counted as a contender for the World Cup in 1983. However, Kapil Dev and his men played some stupendous cricket, when the odds seemed entirely against them.
Even after losing the toss in the high-voltage final against twice-champions West Indies, the Indian side played courageously. After being asked to bat, India put up a total of just 183 runs in 54.4 overs (the World Cup was then played on the 60-over an inning format).
But, Mohinder Amarnath came as shocker for the West Indies and took three crucial wickets, which led to their submission at a score of 140. Amarnath was the man of the match of the nail-biting contest.
The Indian playing XI then comprised Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Sunil Gavaskar, Sandeep Patil, Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Roger Binny, Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal, Kirti Azad and Balwinder Sandhu.
At present, the Indian team led by Virat Kohli is playing some tremendous cricket in the ongoing World Cup 2019. The side is ranked third in points table. After beating Afghanistan, India will lock horns with West Indies on June 27 at Old Trafford.
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