Kapil Dev lifting World Cup 1983, India 1983 World Cup
Kapil Dev lifting World Cup 1983: ICC

June 25, is the date when Team India won the 1983 World Cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. When Team India left for this tournament, they were considered as underdogs. Nobody was confident that this team could reach the final or semi-finals.

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But Kapil Dev’s faith not only led the team India to the final of the 1983 World Cup but also defeated the two-time world-winning team West Indies by 43 runs in the final for the first time.

On 9 June, India made a spectacular start to the World Cup, Indian team first defeated the  West Indies and then Zimbabwe. But then a 162-run defeat to Australia and a 66-run defeat to the West Indies gave India a major setback.

The Indian team took a lesson from these two defeats and won the semi-final ticket by defeating Zimbabwe by 31 runs and Australia by 118 runs in the next two matches. It was the same match against Zimbabwe in which Kapil Dev played an unbeaten inning of 175 runs.

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Road to Finals from Semi-final

Kapil Dev with 1983 World Cup Trophy, India 1983 World Cup
Kapil Dev with 1983 World Cup Trophy: ICC

In the semi-finals, India competed against veteran England. India. Chasing a target of 214 runs in this match, won by 6 wickets with the help of half-centuries from Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil and entered the final.

In the final, India clashed with the two-time World Cup-winning team West Indies. Everyone felt that the West Indies would beat India and hit a hat-trick of victory. But it did not happen.

In the final match played on the ground of Lord’s, the Indian team, batting first, scored just 183 runs. Srikkanth scored the highest 38 runs for India.

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