The 1983 World Cup played in England and Wales was played between 9th to 25th June. 8 teams contested and the teams were divided into groups of two. Each team played the other team twice. Top 2 from each group qualified for the semi-finals.
Under the captaincy of Kapil Dev, the Indian team were grouped with West Indies, Zimbabwe and Australia. Nobody expected them to beat teams like West Indies and Australia.
The matches were played in traditional white clothing and red balls. Each inning consisted of 60 overs.
Ride along as we relive India’s journey in the 1983 World Cup
1. India versus West Indies, 9th June 1983
India took on West Indies in their opening Group B match played on at Old Trafford Manchester. West Indies captain Clive Lloyd won the toss and decided to field first.
The Indian team got off to a poor start losing wickets of Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikanth cheaply. Yashpal Singh contributed a valuable 89 runs to the team while Sandeep Patil 21, Roger Binny 27 and Madan Lal 21 not out helped India post a competitive total of 262 for 8 in 60 overs.
While defending 263 runs, the Indian bowlers under pressure performed magnificently. Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri took 3 wickets while BS Sandhu and Madan Lal took a solitary wicket each. Indians, the underdogs, upset a strong West Indies line up and won the match by 34 runs. Yashpal Sharma was named man of the match for scoring 89 runs.
2. India versus Zimbabwe, 11th June 1983
India defeated Zimbabwe in their second Group B match played at Grace Road, Leicester. Kapil Dev won the toss and decided to field first. It was an all-round bowling effort by the Indian team who created pressure on the Zimbabwe team.
Madan Lal was the pick of bowlers with 3 for 27 in 10.4 overs. Roger Binny took 2 for 25, Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev and BS Sandhu took 1 wicket. India bowled out Zimbabwe for 155 in 51.4 overs.
Chasing the target of 156 runs to win, Sunil Gavaskar again went cheaply for 4 runs. K Srikanth made 20 off 27 balls. Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil steadied the Indian innings adding 69 runs for the 3rd wicket. Ravi Shastri 17 and Yashpal Sharma unbeaten 18* helped Kapil Dev side register 2nd win by 5 wickets with 135 balls to spare. Madan Lal was named as man of the match for his bowling effort.
3. India versus Australia, 13 June 1983
India’s first loss in World Cup came losing to Australia at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. It was a disappointing outing for the Indian team. Australian captain Kim Hughes won the toss and decided to bat first. Trevor Chappell brilliant 110, Kim Hughes 52, Yallop 66 not out helped Australia post a massive total of 320 for 9 in 60 overs.
Kapil Dev was the pick of the bowlers for India with 5 for 43 in 12 overs. Chasing the target of 321, the Indian team were never in the hunt as they were bowled out for 158 in 37.5 overs. For India, Captain Kapil Dev scored 40 and K Srikanth were top scorers. The Indian team lost the match by a massive 162 runs.
4. India versus West Indies, 15 June 1983
After the first round of matches, the Indian team faced West Indies again at The Oval, London. In this match, West Indies captain Clive Lloyd the toss and decided to bat first.
It was a brilliant batting by a strong West Indies batting line up. Vivian Richards scored 119, Haynes 38, Lloyd 41, Gomes 27* helped them to post 282 for 9 in 60 overs. For India, Roger Binny took 3 for 71 in 12, while Kapil Dev, BS Sandhu, Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal picked 1 wicket each.
Chasing the target of 283 runs to win, Apart from Mohinder Amarnath 80, Vengsarkar 32, Captain Kapil Dev 36, none of Indian batsmen contributed. India lost the match by 66 runs as they were bowled out for 216 in 53.1 overs.
5. India versus Zimbabwe,18th June 1983
After 4 matches, India won 2 matches and lost 2 matches. India took on Zimbabwe in 5th Group match played at Tunbridge Wells Indian captain Kapil Dev won the toss and decided to bat first.
It was a disastrous start for the Kapil Dev’s team as they were reduced to 17 for 5. The Indian captain Kapil Dev came to crease and played a captain knock remaining not out on 175 off 138 balls with 16 fours and 6 sixes led India’s recovery. Lower down the order, Roger Binny scored 22, Madan 17 and Syed Kirmani 24 not out helped them to post 266 for 8 in 60 overs. Kapil Dev and Madan Lal added 62 runs for the 8th wicket.
Kapil Dev took on Zimbabwe bowlers and added unbeaten 126 runs for the 9th wicket. Defending the target of 267 runs to win, it was a brilliant bowling effort by Indian bowlers. Madan Lal took 3 for 42 in 11 overs, Roger Binny 2 for 45, Kapil Dev, BS Sandhu and Mohinder Amarnath grabbed 1 wicket each. India won the match by 31 runs as they bowled out Zimbabwe for 235 in 57 overs.
For his sensational knock, Kapil Dev was named the man of the match award.
6. India versus Australia, 20 June 1983
Needing to win the match to qualify for the semi-finals, India took on Australia in the last league match played at County Ground, Chelmsford.
Indian captain Kapil Dev won the toss and decided to bat first. Despite Yashpal Sharma 40, Sandeep Patil 30, Captain Kapil Dev 28, Roger Binny 21, K Srikanth 24, India were bowled out for 247 in 55.5 overs.
Defending 248 runs to win, Madan Lal and Roger Binny broke the backbone of the Australian batting line up by picking 4 wickets each. BS Sandhu also contributed with 2 wickets. The Indian team won the match by 118 runs as they bowled out Australia for just 129 in 38.2 overs.
With the virtue of this win, India finished 2nd in Group B and progressed into the semi-finals.
Semi-finals, 22 June 1983
In the first semi-finals, India took on England at Old Trafford, Manchester. England captain Bob Willis won the toss and decided to bat first. England openers Tavare and G Flower added 69 runs for the opening wicket.
Roger Binny got the breakthrough by dismissing Tavare for 32. It was a good bowling performance by the Indian bowlers who picked wickets at regular intervals and restricted the run flow. India bowled out England for 213 in 60 overs. For India, Kapil Dev took 3 for 35, Roger Binny and Mohinder Amarnath took 2 wickets each, Kirti Azad 1 wicket.
Chasing the target of 214 runs to win, Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikanth got the team off to a steady start adding 46 runs for opening wicket. Mohinder Amarnath and Yashpal Singh put on 92 runs for the 3rd wicket. Sandeep Patil came to the crease and played a quick-fire knock of 51 with Yashpal Singh. Both added 63 runs for the 4th wicket. Patil remained not out on 51 off 32 balls to help England register a remarkable 6 wicket win with 32 balls to spare. India moved into the finals of 1983 World Cup with strong West Indies.
Final, 23 June 1983
West Indies captain Clive Llyod won the toss and decided to field first on a green Lord”s pitch.
It was not a perfect start as Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed cheaply for 2. Kris Srikanth and Mohinder Amarnath added 57 runs for the 2nd wicket. Srikanth scored a quick fire 38. India was reduced to 130 to 7. Sandeep Patil scored 27 off 29 balls. Madan Lal made 17 and Kirmani scored 14. Kapil Dev led side was bowled out for 183 in 54.4 overs.
Defending 184 runs, BS Sandhu got the breakthrough by dismissing Grenidge for 1. Haynes and Vivan Richards added 45 runs for the 2nd wicket before Indian bowlers reduced to 76 for 6. Kapil Dev took a brilliant running catch of Vivan Richards which made India believe that they can win the tournament.
The 7th wicket partnership between Malcolm Marshall and Dujon steadied the ship adding 43 runs. Mohinder Amarnath then got an important breakthrough by getting the wicket of Dujon for 25. The Indian bowlers shocked West Indies as they bowled out for 140 in 52 overs to register a memorable 43 runs win.
For India, Madan Lal took 3 for 31, Mohinder Amarnath 3 for 12, BS Sandhu 2 for 32 while Kapil Dev and Roger Binny picked up a solitary wicket each. For his bowling efforts, Mohinder Amarnath was named the man of the match.
Kapil Dev was the highest run getter for India with 303 runs from 8 matches (8 innings) with the best score of 175*. In the bowling department, Roger Binny finished as the leading wicket taker with 18 wickets (8 matches) at an economy of 3.81. Madan Lal also contributed to the team’s success as he took 17 wickets from 8 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 3.43.
Kapil Dev led from the ball also too, with 12 wickets in 8 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 2.91.