[Watch] On this day: Team India beat Pakistan to lift the World Championship title in 1985
Team India first made a name for themselves when Kapil Dev and Co. lifted their first-ever World Cup trophy at Lord’s in 1983. A couple of years later, the Men in Blue redefined themselves by winning the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship title under Sunil Gavaskar’s leadership.
Ravi Shastri was the star of the show as his all-round performance helped Team India register comprehensive wins against arch-rivals Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and England. He amassed 182 runs and picked up eight wickets in eight games of the tournament.
The right-hander also picked up a wicket in the final against Pakistan. Shastri then helped India chase down 177, scoring an unbeaten 63. He was rewarded with a brand-new Audi 100 after being adjudged the Player of the Series.
On Friday, Shastri shared several throwback pictures on the 28th anniversary of the win. He captioned the post on Twitter:
"What an era of India Cricket! 1983 World Cup win followed by 1985 World Championship."
#TDTY March 10, 1985 at The G -
What an era of India Cricket! 1983 World Cup win followed by 1985 World Championship 🇮🇳
@KrisSrikkanth @therealkapildev @MadanLal1983 @MCG #Cricket https://t.co/h85b6JdgFB
Team India beat Pakistan by eight wickets
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. A clinical bowling performance from Kapil Dev and Chetan Sharma reduced the opponents to 4-33.
Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad (48) shared a 68-run partnership with Imran Khan (35) to help his team stage a comeback in the contest. Meanwhile, Wasim Raja also contributed an unbeaten 21 as they posted 176/9 in their allotted 50 overs.
For India, Kapil Dev and Laxman Shivaramakrishnan scalped three wickets each, while Chetan Sharma and Shastri scalped one each.
In response, Shastri’s unbeaten 63 and Kris Srikkanth (67) helped India share an opening partnership of 103. Mohammad Azharuddin contributed 25, while Dilip Vengsarkar remained unbeaten on 18 as India won by eight wickets with 17 balls to spare.
For Pakistan, Imran Khan and Tahir Naqqash scalped one wicket apiece.
Today (on 10th March)
1971: at POS - India's first-ever win against the West Indies (SMG's Test debut) - WON by 7 wkts.
1985: at MCG - India won the World Championship of Cricket final (SMG's final match as India captain) - WON by 8 wkts.
It was Team India’s second consecutive win against Pakistan in the World Championship. They previously beat Pakistan by six wickets, courtesy of a four-fer from Roger Binny and Mohammad Azharuddin’s unbeaten 93 and Gavaskar’s half-century.