Team India and Indian cricket fans all over the world will remember June 25, 1983 as a historic day. On this day 39 years ago, Kapil Dev and his team won the World Cup for the first time in Indian cricket team history. The success was the result of 50 years of hard work in cricket. Today marks the anniversary of Team India’s first World Cup victory over the might of the West Indies. Those heartwarming celebration images continue to give us chills.
This victory as One Day World Champion came 50 years after India’s first test match.
On June 25, 1932, India played its first test match against England. Prior to the 1983 World Cup, the Indian team had some great wins but was still considered a minnow, but everything changed after this World Cup win in 1983. In 1983, India flew to England to compete in the World Cup, led by Kapil Dev. At the time, Team India was clearly the underdog in a competition with the worst world cup record in history. Despite this, the Indian team went on to win the trophy that year. India finished second in the points table after defeating Zimbabwe, the West Indies, and Australia in the group stage. It then thrashed England in the semi-finals and cruised to victory in the final.
Against All the Odds
In the final, Team India faced the defending champions, the West Indies. In their last two World Cup campaigns, India has failed to advance beyond the group stage. West Indies, on the other hand, has won the last two world cups. On June 25, 1983, these two teams squared off for glory.
In the final, India batted first, but the Caribbeans shook the Indian batters with their sharp bouncers, preventing the Indians from scoring. Indian batters scored 183 runs in 54.4 overs. Later in the West Indian innings, Indian bowlers performed admirably, with Madan Lal (3/31) and Amarnath (3/12) causing major problems for the Caribbeans. Even legends ViV Richards and Andy Roberts were unable to save the match for West. India eventually defeated the West Indies by 43 runs.
An Inspiration for the future generation of cricketers
Some experiences in life inspire you to dream. We won the World Cup for the first time on this day in 1983. When I was watching and enjoying the celebrations, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
It is a day on which India began its journey—in 1932, when it played its first ever Test, and 51 years later, on June 25, 1983, when Kapil Paaji and his team won the World Cup.
The BCCI and ICC also honoured the players from the 1983 World Cup squad on this historic day.
The heroes of the day were:
Sunil Gavaskar, Chris Srikanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Yash Pal Sharma, Sandeep Patil, Kapil Dev, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani, Balwinder Sandhu.
