What If: Kapil's Devils had lost the 1983 World Cup final
Indian fans and supporters still get goosebumps when they relive that epic moment Kapil Dev & his devils won the 1983 Prudential World Cup. 33 years down the line, the victory is still the most historic achievement by any Indian cricket team.
In a tournament where no one really thought that India would even qualify for the semifinals, they defeated the dominant West Indies twice in the tournament to become the World Champions.
It was the captain who led from the front – his 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells is regarded as one of the greatest ODI innings ever played. The innings was invaluable as it came when India was tottering at 17/5.
A defeat would have meant the end of the road for India in the tournament, but the skipper kept their hopes alive, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had a strike on that day and we don’t have the footage of his brilliant innings.
Playing against a star-studded West Indies in the final, India could only manage 183 after batting first and it looked like West Indies would go on to win the World Cup for the third consecutive time. But what transpired next is now etched in every Indian cricket lover’s mind.
As Indian cricket fans we feel really proud of that moment, but did you ever imagine what would have been the situation of Indian cricket if we hadn’t won that tournament?
The 1983 World Cup popularized the game in the country immensely and it gave cricket a huge lift among the fans. Youngsters started taking up the sport and dreams of representing their country in the future started taking shape. Big coaching academies mushroomed up everywhere to develop the young budding cricketers. The whole scenario of the sport in the country changed forever.
Without the World Cup success in India, things would have been very different, to put it mildly.
Now let us assume for a few minutes that India had failed to win the 1983 World Cup. What would have been the situation of cricket in the country 33 years down the line?
#1 Cricket in India would not be the dominant sport
The World Cup victory in 1983 proved to be critical in popularizing the sport in the country. Youngsters started taking up cricket seriously and wanted to make it a profession. Many coaching academies started to develop across the country where youngsters could get proper training to realize their dream.
The World Cup victory made the Indian team believe in their abilities as an ODI team. Kapil changed the mentality of the players and from a weak ODI team they became a real force to reckon with. Within a couple of years, they went on to win the Benson and Hedges World Championship under the captaincy of Sunil Gavaskar.
The World Cup win paved the way for much more success in the future years. More than three decades down the line, the memory of 25th June 1983 is still fresh in every Indian cricket lover’s mind.