The Iconic 1983 Cricket World Cup Final: A Historic Triumph for India
The 1983 Cricket World Cup final marked a significant milestone in cricket history, with India emerging victorious against the formidable West Indies at Lord’s on 25 June 1983.
India and the West Indies faced off in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final at Lord’s. The West Indies, who had won the previous two Cricket World Cups, were making their third appearance in the World Cup final. India won their first World Cup after defeating the West Indies in their inaugural final.
This event marked the third World Cup final to be held at Lord’s, having previously hosted the tournament in 1975 and 1979. After defeating England by six wickets in the first semi-final, India was playing in their first World Cup final. Additionally, this was the first time an Asian country has participated in a World Cup final.
In actuality, the Indian team had lost all but one of its matches in the two previous world cups (1975 and 1979) and had only triumphed once, against East Africa. However, the West Indies had emerged victorious from the previous two World Cups. After eliminating Pakistan by eight wickets in the second semifinal, they had advanced to their third straight World Cup final and were attempting to win their third straight tournament.
Consequently, the Indian team began the final with odds of just 66–1.
India Batted First
India was asked to bat first against a West Indies side that probably had the strongest bowling attack in the world after losing the toss. Sunil Gavaskar, who had a poor campaign overall, was out for two early on. India passed the 50-run mark thanks to a partnership between Mohinder Amarnath and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, before the latter was dismissed for LBW by Marshall.
Holding then bowled Amarnath for 26, and Yashpal Sharma fell after just eleven more runs were scored. The Indian captain, Kapil Dev, needed eight balls to get to 15, but he was caught off bowling by Larry Gomes, and India finished at 110/5. Kirti Azad failed to record any points. Sandeep Patil made 27 and Roger Binny was caught on two to take India to 153/8.
Soon after, all-rounder Madan Lal hit 17 runs, and a partnership of 10 wickets made 22 runs until Michael Holding bowled Syed Kirmani for 14. Consequently, India was bowled out for 183 in 54.4 overs, a score that many believed was readily achievable.
Larry Gomes, Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, and Andy Roberts had each taken two wickets. Andy Roberts had taken three wickets. At a crucial juncture in the match, when India had scored 183 runs, Sandeep Patil and Madan Lal salvaged the match and helped the team surpass the 150-run threshold. Kapil Dev urged everyone to fight for every run after India was bowled out for just 183 runs. Kapil Dev’s opening over ended in a maiden. If it also wasn’t for Kapil Dev’s 175, India wouldn’t have made it to the 1983 CWC final.
West Indies Chase
The West Indies lost an early wicket when Gordon Greenidge was memorably clean bowled by Balwinder Sandhu, ruining their hopes of reaching the low total of 184. The West Indies were reduced to 57/3 after Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards batted with ease past 50. Madan Lal’s bowling claimed both batsmen. The West Indies were reduced to 66/5 as Lal quickly got a third wicket, that of Gomes, and Dev then caught skipper Clive Lloyd.
Sandhu withdrew Faoud Bacchus after ten runs. Malcolm Marshall and Jeff Dujon shared a 43-run partnership before being removed by Mohinder Amarnath at 119 and 124, respectively. Soon after, Amarnath took Michael Holding out of an LBW and Kapil Dev trapped Andy Roberts for a leg by wicket. Consequently, India won their first Cricket World Cup by a margin of 43 runs, with the West Indies all out for 140.
The once unbeatable West Indies were defeated by the Indian bowlers, completing one of the biggest upsets in cricket history. For India, Amarnath and Lal had each taken three wickets, with Sandhu taking two. Because of his excellent performance throughout, Amarnath was named Man of the Match. In 1983, there was no “Man of the Series” award.
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