Exactly 37 years ago on June 25, 1983, the Indian Cricket team created history by winning the first ever World Cup for the country!
On this very day in 1983, the Indian Cricket team led by dynamic Kapil Dev defeated West Indies in the tournament finale at Lord’s cricket ground in London.
The tournament was held in England and Wales between June and June 25. A total of 27 matches were played during the tournament. It was the third edition of the World Cup tournament where 8 countries participated for the coveted title. The matches were played in the classic 60 over format.
There are many more interesting details about this epic victory. Read ahead to catch some of these.
- Lata Mangeskar performed to raise funds for the team.
Lata Mangeskar performed in 1983 to raise funds for the Indian team through a special concert following their triumph in the World Cup Finals. She did it free of cost. The concert, held in Indraprashtha Stadium, raised Rs. 20 lakh and each team member received one lakh.
- God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar was inspired by the 1983 World Cup Victory.
“I was inspired to take up playing the game with the season (hard) ball after the 1983 World Cup victory. Had it not happened things could have been different for me,” said the Master Blaster.
- Lords hosted its 3rd Cricket World Cup Finals in 1983
The Lords ground is considered to be the dream ground to play a match in for a lot of Cricketers. The history of this stadium can never be separated from the history of the game itself. So much so that that it hosted three consecutive finales of the biggest tournament of the game. The Finals of CWC 1975 , 1979 and 1983 were played here.
- The son of the first Captain of Indian Team was the Man Of the Match
With his excellent bowling spell, Mohinder Amarnath grabbed three wickets of the West Indies team with an economy rate of just 1.71. Taking the match out of reach of the opposition, he was awarded the Man of the Match award. He is the son of Lala Amarnath, the captain of the first cricket team of Independent India.
- Lowest score to be defended in a World Cup Final
Every Cricket World Cup sees old records being broken and new ones being set. But the one for the lowest score successfully defended by a first batting team still remains in the name of India. 183 in 1983 is the record of that achievement.
(Feature image source: BCCI)
