1983: A Felling of Giants

"In 1983 in Mumbai, for an eleven year-old, cricket was the only thing which mattered along with studies and the ubiquitous story book (there was no PC, no Internet, no iPod, no Wii, no cell phone to keep us kids engaged!). On the 25th day of June in that year, as the Indian middle order collapsed against the West Indies pace attack in the World Cup final, I began praying fervently for a miracle. As soon as Doordarshan's satellite link failed during the crucial last stage of the Indian innings, I vividly recollect crowding around the big radio set owned by our neighbour (his flat was always considered lucky) along with many of our building kids to hear the crackling commentary about the last-wicket pair of Syed Kirmani and Balwinder Sandhu eking out those precious few runs to take the score to 183. I also distinctively remember the Gujarati neighbor (known for his amateur astrological forecasts in our colony) saying quite presciently, "183 kaafi hai. India final jitega." We kids were highly skeptical about this prediction because of the mythological-like awe that all of us were in about the West Indies team's prowess (and especially it's dreaded pace quartet) but by the end of that night (late evening in England) we knew better. Memories are made of these..."

Indians really did not really have too many entertainment options apart from the typical Bollywood potboiler (and the weekly Chayageet programme on Doordarshan) for much of the 70s and the mid-80s. So live coverage of Test Match cricket and the rapid growth and coverage of ODIs were like manna from heaven and sated their appetites for extended entertainment periods in generally more laid-back times- socially, culturally and economically. It is in such a context that the 1983 World Cup ODI win was considered such a turning point in Indian cricket history and rated amongst the greatest happenings (as an event apart from the obvious epochal sporting triumph) in independent India.

And with another 50-overs World Cup win proving elusive for so long (6 since 1983), it's no wonder that the heroes of that win are always pulled out of the woodwork by the media to give their comments and share their memories in the lead up to every other World Cup. But on the twenty-fifty anniversary of that win, Kapil's "Devils" are fittingly and deservingly cornering the limelight exclusively.

The millennial generation (those born primarily after 1980 or so) weaned on a cricket "diet" of 3 successive Australian World Cup ODI wins have not really been able to gauge the sway and sheer domination that the all-powerful West Indies team held for much of the 80s and the early- 90s. In much the same manner that my generation and the ones before have spent many nights wondering whether Don Bradman (despite his phenomenal batting average and overall records) would have withstood the fury of the West Indies pace battery of 80s vintage (inarguably considered the best bowling attack of all time) and still maintained that average.

Many a time, the Australian teams (under different captains) did appear beatable during their 3 World Cup wins in 1999, 2003 and 2007 and pulled through on most occasions due to the famed Aussie grit and tenacity. But the overall aura, the cloak of invincibility, the near-unbeatable nature - and yes the sheer display of professionalism despite the absence of back-room support staff and the sundry sophisticated practice facilities available in these times - of the West Indies team of the 80s (and primarily under Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards' captaincy periods) was unmistakable.

Their domination of games was total in almost all the ODIs (or for that matter even Tests) that they played during that period. It was a matter of Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richards and Lloyd (and Richie Richardson and Gus Logie in later sides) racking up the runs and Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Andy Roberts (and Colin Croft for a brief period before the emergence of Marshall) running through oppositions with ease or even at times defending the occasional small totals set up by the West Indian batsmen.

India's 2 wins against them in the entire tournament should be seen in that light. That's also why India's 3 wins in 5 encounters against the West Indies (starting with the Berbice game in the second match of the 3 match ODI series in the West Indies in the early part of 1983) including the against-all-odds victory at Lord's can hardly be termed as fluke victories -as has been done by many Anglo-Aussie cricket writers on many an occasion.

In fact, noted Indian cricket writers of that era (like the late K.N. Prabhu and Sunder Rajan and the irrepressible Raju Bharatan) gave a lot of credence to that win in Berbice, Guyana and the self-belief that the win inculcated. A self- belief and sustained run of form which saw Indian ODI teams (with minor changes of personnel from the 1983 team) of the mid-eighties complete the "Grand Slam" of ODI wins in 3 different continents (World Cup in 1983, Asia Cup in 1984, Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in 1985 and Rothmans Four-Nations Cup in 1985).

While the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team's notable T20 World Cup triumph in 2007 did a lot to stoke the flames of cricket passion in India again and will be imprinted in the minds of the younger generation for long, that Indian win in the Old Blighty in 1983 - and primarily because of the opposition against which it was recorded - will always rekindle the fondest sepia-tinted memories for this lifelong cricket enthusiast.

A look at the World-Cup winning squad of 1983:

*Sunil Gavaskar: The legendary opener did not really have a great tournament, but his sage-like presence and sharp slip catching did play a role. His 90 in that Berbice game in the preceding ODI series in the West Indies is still talked about as being responsible for breaking of the "beating the West Indies in ODIs" code.

*Krishnamachari Srikanth: A rapacious blade, if ever there was one in the 80s. More Afridiesque in technique rather than possessing the tempered blitzkrieg-like batting approaches of Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist and Sanath Jayasuriya. Only Srikanth's many innings defining flyers at the top of the order came against the best pace bowlers of any era in cricket history.

*Mohinder Amarnath: The Shane Warne of the 1983 World Cup with back-to back man-of-the-match awards in the semi-final and the final. This vastly under-rated all-rounder was his cool, unflappable self throughout and always reserved his best batting against the best teams of the 80s (Pakistan, West Indies).

*Sandeep Patil: A real dasher (on and off the field) and explosive talent with fantastical shot making ability (took on the likes of Dennis Lilleee, Ian Botham, Len Pascoe, Bob Willis in the 80s with panache and ease) and could hit sixes on demand.

*Yashpal Sharma: A gritty, tenacious middle -order batsman and fought head-to-head with the dreaded West Indian pace quartet in the World Cup (his 89 against them paved the way for the first win in the tournament).

*Kirti Azad: For a very brief period was the darling of the masses in India for his six-hitting ability. But like Atul Bedade - another six biffer in the 90s - could not really shine on the international arena.

*Kapil Dev: Had to be inarguably the most naturally gifted batsman (without ever realizing his full potential though and much to Gavaskar's chagrin) of the Indian team during the 80s with his smooth batswing, natural feet-moving technique and super clean big-hitting prowess. His bowling skills have been well-documented. Was simply inspirational as a captain with his all-round performances in the World Cup and did not have to resort to strategic planning and team pow-pows to get his point through. His 'josh' on the field was enough to inspire his 'devils'.

*Syed Kirmani: Easily the most technically proficient stumper in the post- Farokh Engineer era. Did chip in with crucial contributions with the bat during the World Cup.

*Roger Binny: Prodigious swinger of the bowl and invariably picked up top-order wickets. Perfected the art of swing bowling- a now lost art - in the 80s. Had a good batting technique.

*Madan Lal: Had to be the greatest trier of the Indian ODI sides of the mid-80s. Was always ready for a scrap with the bat and shone with the ball throughout the World Cup.

*Balwinder Sandhu: His greatest moment in international cricket was that banana in -swinger to Gordon Greenidge, but did enough at the World Cup to be remembered for eternity.

*Dilip Vengsarkar: The future Coopers and Lybrand no. 1 Test batsman of the mid-80s period was not able to force his way into the World Cup final eleven given Kapil's preference for utility players and all-rounders in that World Cup.

*Ravi Shastri: Was not a regular in the eleven, but the confidence-building seeds of his later star role in the World Championship win in Australia in 1985 were laid with this seminal win in 1983.

*Sunil Valson: Never got a game at the World Cup; never played an international game ever too! But P.R. Man Singh, the team manager always had good things to say about his behind-the-scenes geeing up of the players.