June 25, 1983: When Kapil's Devils conquered the world

It was a pitch invasion of the highest order. People rushed from everywhere to grab their heroes, see them up close for a moment. A bewildered Lord's watched the mad spectacle as the power structure in world cricket saw the beginning of a shift. On an afternoon at the 'Mecca of Cricket', the country that gave birth to the gentleman's game witnessed its erstwhile colony being crowned as the new rulers of world cricket. And they accomplished that by beating the mighty champions, the West Indies.

Before the start of the tournament, as the experts were busy analysing and predicting the probable champions, fate immersed itself in writing a fairytale for India. A story of one of the greatest sporting victories.

India had won just one match in the previous two editions of the World Cup (then known as the Prudential Cup), with the solitary victory coming against East Africa in 1975. They were branded as the minnows, trying to find their way through the myriad mysteries of the ODI. The victory against the West Indies in the opening match was perceived as simply a rare upset. Then, with some luck and dazzling individual performances, they suddenly found themselves in the final. On the other hand, the mighty West Indies were the defending champions, having lifted the trophy two consecutive times (1975 and 1979). Unsurprisingly, the final was advertised as the classic David vs Goliath battle. While using that expression, however, people sometimes forget who won that battle. After a see-saw match that lasted 106.4 overs, people remembered the heroics of David once again.

The West Indies won the toss and decided to bowl first, aiming to pummel the opposition with their vicious fast bowling attack and then steamroll them with their batting prowess. And for the first half of the match, they executed their plans brilliantly. Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall ripped through India's batting line-up, which had been quite inconsistent through the tournament. Five top-order batsmen crossed the double-digit mark and Krishnamachari Srikkanth top-scored with a 57-ball 38. Only two others, Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil, managed to cross 20. And another 20 runs came from extras. The numbers highlight the expertise of the West Indian bowling line-up that thrived under big-match pressure. That five of their six bowlers took at least one wicket shows the depth of the firepower (Vivian Richards bowled for just one over).

An upbeat West Indies was confident of claiming a huge victory. They had the batting might and a total as paltry as 183 with 60 overs in hand (it was the last World Cup in the 60-over format) looked feeble and fragile, ready to surrender even if it took a while. Their supporters began imagining a third consecutive trophy, the neutrals simply waited for the customary rituals to be completed and the Indians sighed in disappointment.

Like all those teams who have snatched victories from the jaws of imminent defeats, Kapil's Devils had other ideas.

Team India bowled its heart out. When Sir Gordon Greenidge was castled by Balwinder Sandhu, it was seen as a batsman playing down the wrong line. An unperturbed Windies then began to dismantle the India bowling attack with supreme authority. When Desmond Haynes drove one straight to Roger Binny off Madan Lal, it still appeared to be a cakewalk for them. They were at 50 with both their openers back in the pavilion. Captain Clive Lloyd, the hero of the 1975 final, walked into the middle to join Sir Vivian Richards. The latter by then had established himself as the best in the world. India still had a mountain to climb. However, as Ole Gunner Solskjaer famously said, "Mountains are made to be climbed, aren't they! You can't lay down and say this is over."

And India began to make the ascent. The West Indies was on 57, and Madan Lal with the red cherry in hand ran towards Richards and bowled a harmless waist-high short ball. Richards's eyes lit up and he pulled the ball with disdain. The ball, however, sliced off the upper half of the bat. Since the bat contact was not right, it went high but not far. It still seemed far enough from Kapil Dev, who ran backwards at full pace, all the while never losing sight of the ball. Eventually, it did settle in his eager arms and the West Indies began to feel a slight tremor.

The team then somehow collapsed like a house of cards. Except for a brief 43-run partnership between Jeff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall, the West Indies crumbled as Madan Lal, Amarnath and Sandhu ripped them out one by one. Amarnath, who was named the Man of the Match, picked up the wickets of both Dujon and Marshall within the space of five runs. It was beginning to sink in that India was within sniffing distance of an improbable victory. The once-dejected Indian supporters were experiencing the emotion that comes with a dream moving closer to reality. With the fall of Michael Holding, it finally happened.

As a smiling Kapil Dev lifted the trophy known as the Prudential Cup, a nation that was nearing a billion voices erupted in joy. The victory transgressed the boundaries of cricket and became a symbol of India's rise within the global hierarchy, a testament to the fact that the country had come a long way since gaining its independence.

The then Editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly David Frith had suggested in an article that if India failed to improve its ODI performances in the tournament, the team should qualify for the next World Cup by going through the process meant for associate teams. The World Cup win was the stepping stone that moved the Indian cricket team on to the path that made it a superpower in the game. A cricket-crazy nation was born. The sport would go on to become a religion that would have a pervading influence on the social, political and economic fabric of society.

On June 25, 1983, India's reign began at the balcony of the Lord's Cricket Ground.