World Cup Whirlwind

The Eighties saw India on the ascent, aided by a lineup of fluent stroke-makers in Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, and tenacious all-rounders in Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri. The decade would end with a 16-year-old boy who would walk out into the middle to boldly take a searing Pakistani seam attack on the chin. His name? Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Listen to Episode 4 of Well Caught with Giri and Raghu for the full story.

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Athletic and courageous, all-rounder Kapil Dev smelled like team spirit (with a splash of Palmolive) and brought to India’s arsenal the firepower of wily pace, gutsy batting, and a never-say-die attitude. Promoted to captain in 1983, he led an underdog side (nicknamed Kapil’s Devils post facto) to a historic World Cup triumph. To date, he is lionised for his unforgettable 175 not out against Zimbabwe and his spectacular sprinting catch to halt the ferocious onslaught of Vivian Richards in the final.

The Eighties saw India on the ascent, aided by a lineup of fluent stroke-makers in Dilip Vengsarkar and Mohammad Azharuddin, and tenacious all-rounders in Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri. Gavaskar, by now the elder statesman, cantered to a record 34 centuries and 10,000 Test runs.

In 1987, when the World Cup was first played outside England, the home crowd in the subcontinent expected a repeat of 1983. That was not to be, but the end of the decade brought new hope.

In November 1989, a 16-year-old boy marched out into the middle to face the brunt of a pugnacious Pakistani pace attack. His name was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Cricket would never be the same again.

Credits:

Akshay Ramuhalli, Bijoy Venugopal, Bruce Lee Mani, Narayan Krishnaswamy, Prashant Vasudevan, Sananda Dasgupta, Seema Seth, Shraddha Gautam, Supriya Joshi and Velu Shankar

Before you go…