Thirty-nine years ago, on 25th June 1983, Indian cricket team had achieved a new higher level after winning their first cricket World Cup trophy under Kapil Dev’s captaincy. At the famous Lord’s stadium, Indian cricket team held the trophy after beating the two-time World Champions West Indies in the final game by 43 runs.
Incidentally, it was the exact 51 years later of India’s first-ever international cricket match that was against England at Lord’s, started on June 25, 1932.
Coming to the Prudential Cup ’83 final, which was the third edition of cricket World Cup, two-time World Champions and the favorite Clive Lloyd’s West Indies won the toss and decided to field first.
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India had a poor start as their opener Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed early for just 2 runs. Only three Indian batsmen reached the 20-run mark as India was bundled out for just 183 runs in 54.4 overs.
Another opener Kris Srikkanth scored the highest runs in that innings of 38 runs while Mohinder Amarnath (26 runs) and Sandeep Patil (27 runs) were the only other Indian batsmen to reach in ’20s.
Among the West Indies pacers, Sir Andy Roberts (3/32) took three wickets while Malcolm Marshall (2/24), Michael Holding (2/26) and Larry Gomes (2/49) picked up two wickets each and Joel Garner (1/24) earned one more wicket.
In reply, West Indies batting suffered a huge collapse as they were bundled out for just 140 runs in 52 overs and it destroyed their dream to secure their World Cup hat-tricks. In the Caribbean innings, only Sir Viv Richards (33 runs) and wicketkeeper-batsman Jeff Dujon (25 runs) reached the 20-run mark while the opener Desmond Haynes (13 runs) and lower-order batsman Malcolm Marshall (18 runs) were the other batsmen to reach the double-digit marks.
Among the Indian bowlers, Madan Lal (3/31) and Mohinder Amarnath (3/12) picked up three wickets each while Balwinder Sandhu (2/32) bagged two wickets and Kapil Dev (1/21) and Roger Binny (1/23) got one wicket each.
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Mohinder Amarnath won the Player of the Match award for his remarkable all-round performances (26 runs & 3/12) in that crucial game.
It was an unforgettable moment for the Indian cricket team. The nation celebrated wildly and it has led the national side to the future superiority in that game.
Brief Scores: India – 183 in 54.4 overs (Kris Srikkanth 38, Sandeep Patil 27; Sir Andy Roberts 3/32)
West Indies – 140 in 52 overs (Sir Viv Richards 33, Jeff Dujon 25; Mohinder Amarnath 3/12)
Result – India won by 43 runs
