5 moments that changed Indian cricket forever

2. Kapil’s devils defy the odds to kickstart a cricket revolution [1983 World Cup]

The foremost reason why Indian cricket is there where it is today. Nothing would have happened. You won’t have been hooked to the game like you are now, I won’t have been making a living out of this game. Hell! Even the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid or any youngster from that generation wouldn’t have aspired to hold a bat or a cricket ball for India.

There are moments. There are landmarks. And, then there is 25 June 1983. A day that saw the biggest underdog heist in the history of sports or at least cricket. A day where millions of ten-year-olds aspired to become the next Kapil Dev or the next Mohinder Amarnath or Sunil Gavaskar. It was a moment that was symbolic as to what can be achieved even when the odds are stacked against you (In India’s case it was 500:1).

India had just won a solitary World Cup in the last two quadrennial events and by the admission of that World Cup-winning side himself, they weren’t expected to do much that time around either. Some had even made plans for a trip to the US after the event was done and dusted.

And it was only when they proceeded to beat the West Indies by 34 runs in their opening game that a sense of self-belief started to come in the Indians. Successive defeats to Australia and defending champs West Indies threatened to derail the campaign and when the side was reduced to 5-17 in their must-win game against Zimbabwe, it looked like another World Cup will end up with embarrassment.

But Kapil Dev produced an innings for the ages, smoking Zimbabwe to the tune of 175 and sealing his sides’ spot in the semis where the Kapil’s devils brushed aside England with ease to set up a finals date with the defending champions; a date that ended with Kapil Dev holding the coveted trophy from the balcony of Lord’s; a moment no Indian can or should never forget.