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Players recall WCC triumph on 25th anniversary

Vijay Lokapally

GREAT MOMENT:Members of the Indian team with the World Championship of Cricket trophy.

June 25, 1983 and March 10, 1985 are landmark dates in the history of Indian cricket. If all-rounders won the 1983 World Cup under Kapil Dev's captaincy, the spinners played the leading role in the World Championship of Cricket triumph in 1985 that saw Sunil Gavaskar relinquish his captaincy on a high note.

The 1985 feat was special for many reasons. It was a young team, arguably better than the 1983 composition, far more confident and convincing all the way. The occasion also saw day-night matches beamed to India for the first time ever.

Was India's 1983 World Cup victory a lucky aberration? Most critics believed it was, particularly after the sound thrashing that India received in the home one-day series against the West Indies the same year. That India won the Asia Cup in 1984 was conveniently forgotten.

“We were not really worried about what others thought,” said Kapil Dev, remembering the circumstances preceding India's departure for Australia 25 years ago for the World Championship of Cricket. It was a one-off tournament and India was a convincing winner from the time it beat Pakistan comprehensively in the opening match.

Cherry on the cake

“Cherry on the cake,” was how Kapil described the 1985 triumph.

“Several people said 1983 was a fluke victory. But fluke can't happen twice and we proved a lot of people wrong by winning a world title again in less than 24 months.

“The conditions in England were equally tough — seaming and swinging — and bouncy in Australia. We showed we could excel in all conditions.”

The 1985 team did not have Sandeep Patil, Kirti Azad, Yashpal Sharma, Syed Kirmani and Balwinder Singh Sandhu from the playing eleven that made history at Lord's on June 25, 1983.

In their place came Mohammad Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, L. Sivaramakrishnan, Chetan Sharma and Sadanand Vishwanath. The common names in 1983 and 1985 were Kapil, Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath, Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Srikkanth, Madan Lal and Roger Binny,

The tournament would be remembered for Shastri's all-round show, Siva's guiles, Vishwanath's sensational work behind the stumps, Srikkanth's over-the-top hitting, Azharuddin's exceptional fielding and Gavaskar's astute leadership.

Young faces

“We had some young faces, new energy. But I would rate 1983 on a higher scale because it was the first ever world title,” said Kapil. “I would rate them on the same scale,” said Shastri, who had a wonderful tournament in 1985.

Shastri, who was dropped for the final in 1983, emerged an unlikely hero in Australia. He was adjudged champion of champions and won an Audi, which he has preserved at his Mumbai home.

“It was a huge win. Nothing can ever get bigger than beating Pakistan in a final (in Melbourne). We showed that 1983 was no flash in the pan . We had a very good team,” recalled Shastri. It looked so different too — the shape of helmets, no arm guards, thin thigh pads, no chest guards.

Aggressive bowling

The 1985 triumph was built on the strategy of aggressive bowling. Said Sivaramakrishnan, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with ten scalps, “I was told to bowl to take wickets; did not matter if I went five an over as long as I got wickets. I bowled normal, flighted the ball, made the batsmen drive.” He bowled “brilliantly,” praised Shastri.

The wily Siva made some of the crucial breakthroughs. He got them caught and bowled, stumped, bowled and taken at extra cover.

“I enjoyed myself because I had the backing of the captain,” remembered Siva. “He was handled beautifully by Sunny,” said Shastri.

Siva's victims included Zaheer Abbas, Allan Lamb and Javed Miandad. A flighted leg break, dipping in, left top-scorer Miandad stranded a yard outside in the final. He got Lamb with a googly off the fifth ball, the previous four balls were same too.

“It was magic,” said Shastri, who was Siva's roommate. “We spoke a lot about cricket and were always charged up,” remembered Siva.

Looking back, Shastri observed it was a great win for Indian cricket. “We grew as a team. It was a huge honour to be part of that era and I will treasure it all my life,” said Shastri. What about the Audi? “I drive it on special occasions.”

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