When Kapil Dev changed the face of Indian cricket by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 23rd February 2007

 

When Kapil Dev was named India's captain for the 1983 World Cup, many believed he was merely leading lambs to slaughter. His team had a few world-class batsmen and plenty of bits-and-pieces cricketers.

 

However, such is the game's unpredictable nature that after only 17 days of high drama, these same bit-and-pieces players were hailed as giant-killers and Dev was holding the Cup after a memorable win over the West Indies in the final.

 

Discipline and courage were the key to success, which eventually changed the face of cricket in the country. Dev became a mega star who could do wonders with both bat and ball.

 

India had quality batsmen in Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar, but neither could contribute much. They had Yashpal Sharma, Sandip Patil, Mohinder Amarnath and Krishnamachari Srikkanth capable of rising to the occasion.

 

Middle-order batsman Vengsarkar missed the semi-final and final due to an injury, while opener Gavaskar's best in six games was 25.

 

All-rounders, led by irrepressible Dev, invariably came to India's rescue as Amarnath, Madan Lal and Roger Binny all exceeded expectations with their gentle seam and swing bowling.

 

Lal finished with 17 wickets, including that of Viv Richards which swung the final in India's favour. Binny grabbed 18 wickets, while Amarnath and swing bowler Balwinder Sandhu played their parts perfectly.

 

"Our medium-pacers did it for us. They took all 10 wickets in the final, with both Lal and Amarnath taking three each," said Dev, an ace all-rounder of his era along with Ian Botham, Richard Hadlee and Imran Khan.

 

"For the World Cup we decided, in normal conditions, to bat first if possible and then to keep the pressure on the opposition with tight line and length bowling."

 

Dev led from the front and his quickfire 175 not out against Zimbabwe is still ranked among memorable Cup knocks. India were reeling at 17-5 when his epic knock came to pave the way for his team's win.

 

His brilliant piece of fielding then played a vital role in the final as he took a superb running catch at mid-wicket to account for Richards, who had been threatening to take the game away from India.

 

Dev used his resources shrewdly, his medium-pacers and spinners responding well in tight situations. It was a team effort that saw India defy the odds and win the most coveted prize.

 

India had more variety in bowling at their disposal than the West Indies, whose attack was largely one-dimensional - pace. Their triumph was to inspire underdogs in the coming editions.

 

Dev, a superstar like Gavaskar, did more than just lead his country to the World Cup triumph. India had begun to take the game seriously, with the cricket board launching new one-day tournaments.

 

Dev quit international cricket in 1994 after scoring 5,248 runs in 131 Tests and 3,783 in 225 one-dayers. He grabbed 434 Test wickets and 253 in the shorter version of the game.

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)