Today is the day that changed the nation's cricket history forever while recalling the historic 1983 World Cup win.
It was the same day in 1983 when Kapil Dev-led Indian team beat two-time champions West Indies and etched its name in the history books at Lord's. India's triumph as Kapil became the first Indian skipper to lift the trophy 39 years ago. He was also the youngest skipper to win the title at 24y 170d.
The cricket world witnessed one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game when a lower-ranked Indian team, trumped a dominant West Indies team which was full of stars.
With Andy Roberts taking three wickets and Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, and Larry Gomes each taking two, India was only able to score 183 runs. For India, Kris Srikkanth scored the most runs with a knock of 38; no other batter was able to surpass the 30-run threshold.
Thanks to West Indies' potent batting lineup, which included players like Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Vivian Richards, and Clive Lloyd, the total appeared to be reasonably chaseable.
With 184 required for victory in the 60 overs per side match, they got off to a strong start thanks to captain Richards' 28-ball 33. The game's outcome was altered by Kapil's outstanding catch, however, as the dominant Windies team fell to 76/6 before bundling out for just 140.
With three wickets each, Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal shone with the bat as India won by a record-breaking 43 runs. Amarnath's 26 runs at bat and game-changing bowling performance earned him the title of Man of the Match. To start the West Indies' collapse, he took three crucial wickets for just 12 runs in seven overs.
"Team India created history by winning the World Cup for the 1st time under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. A historic and memorable day for Indian cricket!" wrote one fan.
"On 25 June 1983, Indian cricket stormed into a new era when Kapil Dev’s men outplayed a formidable West Indies side led by Clive Lloyd in the final of the World Cup at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground," tweeted another.
#OnThisDay in 1983, Team India created history by Winning the World Cup for the 1st time under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. A historic and memorable day for Indian cricket!💙💙#worldcup1983 #KapilDev pic.twitter.com/M8ULXLZ4bm
— Rahul Choudhary (@Rahulc7official) June 25, 2022
On 25 June, 1983, Indian cricket stormed into a new era when Kapil Dev’s men outplayed a formidable West Indies side led by Clive Lloyd in the final of the World Cup at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.#OnThisDay pic.twitter.com/IXYW2vBj8i
— Nileshkumar Kulkarni (@NileshkumarMK) June 25, 2022
2 most crucial moments in #WorldCupFinal that changed game& let us to glory. 25th June 1983 would remain a special victory for #TeamIndia in its cricketing history as from that day🇮🇳as a nation was looked differently.We defeated that #CliveLloyd side.Hats off to #KapilDev team.🙏 pic.twitter.com/UrN0cpYLN6
— Namra Patel 🇮🇳 (@NamraPatel__) June 24, 2022
“We went to Lord’s for the final and again everyone said that India had done well but now we didn’t stand a chance,” Kapil told Wisden India.
“Everyone started saying that the West Indies were going to win it once again, for the third time. But I think we had something that no one knew about. There was something up our sleeve — it was the self-confidence and the self-belief,” he added.