On This Day In 1983: India's Cricket World Cup Legacy That Began On A Saturday
On This Day: June 25, 1983, marked India's first Cricket World Cup win, starting a legacy that continued with wins on April 2, 2011, and June 29, 2024 — three lucky Saturdays.
On This Day In 1983: June 25, 1983, marks one of the greatest days in cricket history as India lifted the Prudential World Cup in England. It was on this day that Kapil Dev's men were crowned champions at Lord's with an unbelievable victory over heavy favourites West Indies that ushered in a new era for India and world cricket. Kapil inspired his troops to a remarkable triumph after they were given no chance by pundits and expert,s and changed the landscape for the sport in the country.
After winning the coveted title in 1975 and 1979, the West Indies were ready to add a third World Cup trophy to their rich cabinet and flex their dominant muscles. Clive Lloyd's men started in trademark fashion, unleashing their mighty four-pronged pace battery.
India had defeated the Calypso Kings during the group stage, but the pressure of a World Cup final took its toll as Kapil's men could only muster a score of 183.
Opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth emerged as his team's top scorer for the first hal,f making 38, with senior pro Mohinder Amarnath (26) and the aggressive Sandeep Patil (27) being the only other players to enter twenties. Legendary right-arm quick Andy Roberts led the pack for the opposition with figures of 3 for 32 off his 12 overs.
pic.twitter.com/z2icRmJUFb — ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2024
Set a target of just 184, the West Indies looked set to crush India's fairytale run. But in an inspired bowling display, India's steady but disciplined medium pacers turned the tables on Clive Lloyd's mighty juggernaut.
A memorable catch running backwards by Kapil helped remove the dangerous Vivian Richards after he threatened to run away with the game with his 33 off 28 and proved to be the game-changer.
Madan Lal (3/31), Balwinder Sandhu (2/32) and Mohinder Amarnath (3/12) provided critical blows and ran through the much-fancied opposition batting line-up, dismissing the West Indies for 148.
THE SATURDAYS OF GLORY
India's pathbreaking triumph gave Kapil a legacy-defining moment as he inspired a generation of players to take up the sport and to lift the World Cup for the country. It also started India's love affair with Saturdays in ICC tournaments. Saturday seems to be a lucky charm for Indian cricket when it comes to the marquee finals of global events.
28 years after Kapil lifted the coveted crown on the Lord's balcony, MS Dhoni finished off in style and unleashed nationwide celebrations with the 2011 World Cup win.
It was another special Saturday for Indian cricket at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, as Dhoni led from the front and helped India ace the final against Sri Lanka after being set a target of 275.
The Saturday charm worked its wonders yet again on June 29, 2024, when the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team defeated South Africa in the ICC T20 World Cup final and broke the country's longstanding jinx at major events.
Despite Proteas needing 30 off 30 balls heading into the final half-hour of play, a special second spell from Jasprit Bumrah and a tremendous boundary catch from Suryakumar Yadav provided the turnaround before allrounder Hardik Pandya successfully defended 16 required off the last over.
First Published:
June 25, 2025, 07:10 IST
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