1983 Cricket World Cup
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The Cricket World Cup in 1983 (aka Prudential Cup, 1983) was the third edition of the tournament. It was held 1983-06-09 – 1983-06-25 in England. 8 countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each in which each country played its groupmates twice unlike before. The top two teams in each group qualified for the semifinals, whose winners played the final.
The matches played consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white uniform and red balls. They were all played during the day.
The countries participating were:
Test teams
- Australia (Group B)
- England (Group A)
- India (Group B)
- New Zealand (Group A)
- Pakistan (Group A)
- Sri Lanka (Group A)
- West Indies (Group B)
Other teams
- Zimbabwe (Group B)
The 1983 World Cup was full of dramatic cricket right from the word go with underdogs India and Zimbabwe staging upset victories over the West Indies and Australia, respectively. Along with England, Pakistan and tournament favourites West Indies, India too qualified to the semifinals. India pulled off yet another victory, this time over England to meet the West Indies in the finals.
[edit] The Semifinals and the Finals
In the semi-finals against England, Yashpal Sharma top-scored with 61 runs, followed by Sandeep Patil (51 runs) and Amarnath (46 runs). Amarnath's accurate seam bowling fetched him the top-order wickets of David Gower and Michael Gatting. He gave away only 27 runs in his 12 overs, for an average of 2.25 an over, the lowest among all Indian bowlers. He was named the Man of the Match.
In the finals India batted first against the West Indies which arguably boasted the world's best bowling attack. The team did not fare well, with the entire team being dismissed for a low score of 183 in 54.4 overs, well short of the alloted 60 overs. Amarnath gave the Indian innings some much needed stability, lasting the longest of all Indian batsmen. He occupied the crease for 80 balls and scored 26 runs. Kris Srikkanth top-scored with 38 runs, followed by Sandeep Patil (27 runs) and Amarnath. After the poor batting performance India chances were deemed almost non-existent. However the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the West Indies for 140, thus winning the finals by 43 runs. One memorable sight was Kapil Dev running a great distance to snag a catch of the premier West Indian batsman Vivian Richards. Amarnath and Madan Lal were the joint highest wicket takers, 3 wickets each. Amarnath was the most economical bowler, conceeding only 12 runs in his 7 overs for an average of 1.71 per over. For this all round performance he was once again awarded the Man of the Match award.
[edit] Trivia
The physical trophy won by the Indian cricket team was damaged during a violent rampage on the Indian cricket board's headquarters by the Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena. [1]
