2011 World Cup triumph was bigger than 1983: Ravi Shastri

Two of the greatest moments in the history of Indian cricket came in 1983 and 2011 when they lifted the World Cup under the leadership of Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni respectively. Incidentally, Ravi Shastri, the man who yelled “Dhoni finishes off in style” in 2011, was also a member of the team who won the 1983 World Cup.

Not many get such privilege to be an integral part of such historic occasions twice. Shastri had that luxury and certainly, he is very proud of it. In a candid interview with popular host Gaurav Kapur, the current Indian head coach spoke at length about how the 2011 triumph was bigger than the 1983 triumph.

We were the underdogs in 1983: Shastri

The 56-year-old reminisced how people had written them off before facing the might West Indies in the final. West Indies had some immortals of the game like Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Sir Vivian Richards, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Sir Andy Roberts. Clearly, India entered the game as underdogs and ended up doing something absolutely astonishing.

“In 1983, we were the underdogs. Everyone suggested us to just go and give our best shot, there were no expectations. But 2011 was huge for various reasons. The tournament was in India, no team had a World Cup whilst hosting. Everyone wanted India to win,” the former Indian cricketer recollected.

He also compared the difference in media coverage back in that time to the current scenario. Clearly, the pressure on MS Dhoni‘s team was a lot higher and what they pulled off, according to Shastri was absolutely massive. It has been 7 years since that iconic game at the Wankhede and people still reminisce it as though it happened yesterday.

The difference in media hype in 2011, when compared to 1983, was chalk and cheese. The pressure on those boys (2011 team) was massive and to pull it off in that style, the way MS (Dhoni) finished it, unbelievable,” said Shastri.

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