India’s limited-overs cricket received a shot in the arm when the team, dubbed ‘Kapil’s Devils’, marched to a sensational World Cup triumph at Lord’s in 1983. It set off a belief among the other teams that they, too, can dream of winning cricket’s showpiece event.
Roger Binny, member of the 1983 squad, looks back at the memorable World Cup campaign.
India started as an underdog in the 1983 World Cup but slowly turned heads. What, according to you, was the game-changing moment?
It’s been 40 years since we played in that World Cup, but it does not seem like that. Everything is still so fresh in my mind. I can pinpoint a lot of things that happened back then. The greatest moment in the tournament was the turnaround in the group league game against the West Indies in Manchester. That’s where it all started.
Till then, we were not living up to our potential. That day, after we beat the West Indies, we realised we could go far. That was the most important day, besides the final on June 25, where we defeated the West Indies again.
READ | 1983 Cricket World Cup Special, Prudential World Cup
What’s that one mantra that worked for the team?
Just when we felt a bit overconfident, we were defeated by Australia. That brought us back into the tournament, and everybody was contributing to the team’s success. Even in the fielding department, you could see players making some serious efforts, and that indicated that everyone was in good spirits and wanted to win. Our winning streak also helped us keep our morale high. And, with a person like Kapil leading, it’s incredible. He was full of confidence that we would do well after that game in Manchester. He played a huge part in the team’s title victory.
How much did the English conditions help you?
I was making a comeback to the Indian team after being dropped earlier, so I was determined to perform to the best of my abilities. Just before the World Cup, I had a good Ranji Trophy campaign, so on a comeback trail, I wanted to do well. Luckily, the conditions suited my sort of bowling, and I could seam well.
It was not easy to tackle Clive Lloyd or Vivian Richards. Taking on the two-time champions initially, was there any overwhelming moment? How did you all handle the pressure?
We never discussed cricket the whole day. Of course, there would be team meetings, but besides that, we did not talk much about the game. We had lots of fun; we would crack jokes on the team bus. We had so many people with a good sense of humour, so the atmosphere was good, and each one was a character by himself—be it Yashpal, Kirti, or Sandeep—so it was a happy dressing room.
We knew our job, and when Llyod was batting in the final, Kapil walked up to me and said, “Look, he is hobbling around. Don’t bowl short to him; make him stretch for the ball.” And I eventually got him out. So, those were the plans we had to make on the field.
The movie ‘83’ shows us waiting for the bus in the airport upon arrival in England. The scene shows that as all the West Indies players go past us, we look at them in awe. But in reality, such a thing did not happen. We were not overawed by them.
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