It was on this day, 35 years ago, that Kapil Dev and his group of men defied all expectations to beat the mighty West Indies in the finals of the 1983 ICC World Cup.
It was a true ‘David versus Goliath’ clash with the unheralded Indian side going up against the two-time champions who were chasing a hat-trick of the world title.
A packed house at Lord’s was the setting of the finals between the two teams at a time when the tournament was known as the Prudential Cup.
West Indies skipper and legend Clive Lloyd won the toss and asked the Indians to bat first. Their much touted pace attack led by Andy Roberts was on song on the day as the bowled out the subcontinent side for just 183 runs in the 55th over. Roberts would go on to claim three wickets on the day while K Srikkanth top-scored for India with a 57-ball 38.
Kapil Dev celebrated the wicket of Andy Roberts in the final.
The Indian would then put in a bowling performance to remember for the ages as they secured a 43-run win by bowling out the mighty Caribbean side for 140 runs.
Madan Lal and Mohinder Amarnath were the stars of the ball that day for India with both of them picking up three West Indies wickets each. Skipper Kapil Dev too was in the thick of things with his stunning catch while running backwards to dismiss the dangerous Viv Richards etched permanently in the memory of Indian cricket fans.
When Mohinder Amarnath trapped last-man Michael Holding lbw, it sparked off wild celebrations at the stadium as fans of both India and West Indies alike swarmed towards the centre of the pitch to engulf the players.
That iconic win over the the heavy favourites at the home of cricket sparked a cricket revolution back in India which has only been growing since that famous day.
