Celebrating 30 years of Kapil Magic
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For sixteen years and across four World Cups, Kapil Dev held the national record for the highest individual score in an ODI. In a match which was a virtual quarter-final for India, Kapil led from the front with a bludgeoning 175 that almost singularly took India to a win.
It was symbolic that the 1983 World Cup's most cherished innings came from a young nonchalant Indian Captain who would eventually take his team to a win. India made heads turn after its huge win against Zimbabwe in that match and came to be reckoned as a force to contend with.
The script of that unforgettable game was played out in Turnbridge Wells. After he had won the toss and opted to bat, Kapil wouldn't have expected to be out on the field as quickly as he had to. India had had bad starts in ODIs before. But, what happened in the match against Zimbabwe was a horror tale. The vaunted opening pair that India boasted of in Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth came a cropper with the former returning to the pavillion before he or the team could open their respective accounts. His partner did not last long after his departure either. Srikkanth too was forced to trace his steps back without making any contribution to the scorecard.
Soon, the World Cup hero, Mohinder Amarnath, the pugnacious Sandeep Patil and the mercurial Yashpal Sharma too were back in the hut and India was reeling at 17 for five. It is in the face of adversity that a hero stakes his claim. That is exactly what Kapil Dev did thirty years ago. Knowing that he would now had to stitch partnerships with the lower order, Kapil took most of the strike and scored what remains the greatest ODI ton by an Indian batsman.
The statistics might give a better indication of the impact that the then Indian Captain had on that match. India's total in that match was 266. Kapil Dev's individual score was 175*. Zimbabwe scored 235 losing the match by an arguably narrow margin of 31 runs. Two third of the Indian total was contributed by Kapil. Had he scored even thirty runs less, the Indians would have been on their way back home. Unfortunately, the match wasn't recorded since the BBC was on strike on what was one of the most eventful days of cricket.
History is full of examples where one man's defiance altered the fate of many. Kapil's knock might not have helped India conquer the world, but it was the anchor to which the ship of Indian cricket came to be tied to for over two decades. Even after three decades, just the memory of that terrific innings that was singlehandedly responsible for taking India to the semi-finals of the 1983 World Cup is sufficient to send goosebumps down our spines.
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