India created history by winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup by 43 runs. The 1983 Cricket World Cup was officially known as the Prudential Cup’83. It was the 3rd edition of Cricket World Cup tournament held from 9 to 25 June 1983. The tournament was held in England and Wales in which eight countries took part.
The participants and format
Eight teams participated in the tournament namely; India, England, Australia, West Indies (1975,79 winner), Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka & Zimbabwe.
The teams were divided into two groups of four each. Each team had to play the other teams in their group twice. The top two teams would then advance to the semifinals. Every match was of 60 overs an inning.
The Indian squad
Kapil Dev (captain)
Mohinder Amarnath (Vice Captain)
Kirti Azad
Roger Binny
Sunil Gavaskar
Syed Kirmani (Wicket Keeper)
Madan Lal
Sandip Patil
Balwinder Sandhu
Yashpal Sharma
Ravi Shastri
Krishnamachari Srikkanth
Sunil Valson
Dilip Vengsarkar
Group stage
Group A consisted of : England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka
Group B consisted of : India, reigning champions West Indies, Australia and Zimbabwe
The event was held in such a way that all the matches could be screened live on TV.
The Semifinals and Finals
In Group A England and Pakistan came on top 2 while in Group B it was West Indies and India. Hence the matches scheduled were England v/s India and West Indies v/s Pakistan. India was victorious against England by chasing 213 in 54.4 overs on the other hand West Indies crushed Pakistan chasing 184 in 48.4 overs. The finals was now West Indies against India.
India won the toss in the final and were asked to bat first against the West Indies. Only Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls) and Mohinder Amarnath (26 from 80 balls) stood out as Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner, and Michael Holding ripped through the Indian batters, ably helped by Gomes. Surprising tail resistance allowed India to score 183 (all out in 54.4 overs). The Indian bowlers took full advantage of the weather and pitch conditions to bowl out the West Indies for 140 runs in 52 overs, winning by 43 runs and accomplishing one of cricket’s most shocking upsets. It is still the lowest total ever successfully defended in a World Cup final. Both Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets. Viv Richards led the West Indies with 33 runs from 28 balls. Amarnath was the most economical bowler, surrendering only 12 runs in seven overs while taking three wickets, and was named Man of the Match for his all-round effort. In 1983, there was no ‘Man of the Series’ award.
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