“The self-belief the World Cup victory had given Indian cricket had little parallel” - Clive Lloyd on India’s 1983 WC triumph
Clive Lloyd's West Indies were stunned by India in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s on this day (June 25) 40 years ago.
While the loss marked the end of Windies’ dominance in World Cups, Lloyd, who was leading the team in their third straight final, after winning in 1975 and 1979, believes that India’s win in 1983 was good for cricket overall. He also admitted that the historic triumph changed Indian cricket forever.
India beat the mighty West Indies by 43 runs in the 1983 World Cup final. Batting first, India were bowled out for 183, but their bowlers hit back to bundle out the Windies for 140. West Indies have not reached another ODI World Cup final since then.
Speaking to Revsportz on the show Backstage With Boria to mark the 40th anniversary of India's 1983 World Cup win, Lloyd cast his mind back to West Indies’ shocking batting collapse in the final and said:
"Bowling India out for 183 was a very good effort, and on most days, we would easily chase this score down. But for cricket, however, it was a great result. It helped Indian cricket turn into something fundamentally different and world cricket, too, benefitted from this turnaround."
He added:
"Even when we beat the Indians convincingly in the winter of 1983, we knew that it was only a matter of time before they became a cricketing superpower.
"The self-belief the World Cup victory had given Indian cricket had little parallel. It was great for your cricket," the West Indies legend added.
Relive India's stunning win over the mighty West Indies in the 1983 men's @cricketworldcup final, including Kapil Dev's spectacular running catch to dismiss Viv Richards 🌟
WATCH 📽️ https://t.co/KWzrDNZ4o3
Mohinder Amarnath (3-12) and Madan Lal (3-31) starred with the ball as India bowled out West Indies cheaply to lift the 1983 World Cup.
“You have to have a vision” - Lloyd on his leadership philosophy
Despite the upset in the 1983 World Cup final, Lloyd is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential captains in the history on cricket. Asked about his leadership philosophy, he said that it's important to have a vision:
"Well you have to have a vision. You have got to be someone who is going to lead from the front. You have got to be friendly with your players. You have got to trust them. They have got to trust you. And because I have come from the Islands, my situation is rather challenging."
He added:
"It was different to other captains of different countries. They come from one country, one language. We have 14 different islands with different cultures and backgrounds, and you have to work together to get them to understand what is their role.
“Some of them can be quite flamboyant. West Indians love having a go and so on, but you have to put a bit more professionalism into them. So, it was a difficult task but a happy one because the results has been tremendous."
25th June, 1983 - 40 years since that landmark day when Kapil Paaji and his boys won India the World Cup and it inspired an entire generation of youth to take up Cricket and was an instrumental moment in making Cricket what it is in India. #WorldCup https://t.co/aPcRLAFAMU
Lloyd played 110 Tests and 87 ODIs, scoring 7515 and 1977 runs respectively.