In June 2023, the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team released the following statement: “We are heartbroken and upset by the unseemly manner in which our champion wrestlers have been manhandled. , our biggest concern is that they are considering abandoning their hard-earned medals to their country.” These medals represent years of hard work, sacrifice, determination, and grit. It is not only their own, but also the pride and joy of this country. ”
November 19, 2023 Kapil’s Devils, as the champions were affectionately called, did not even receive an invitation to watch the final match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
As a sports fan, I feel angry.
Grace. Good manners. Thank you. Too much to ask of those who spread patriotism in the name of cricket.
Nostalgia, they say, is a good antidote to anger. So let me tell you frame by frame what I was doing on June 25, 1983.
I was 22 years old. My two brothers and four friends (we were working at a magazine called Sportsworld edited by Tiger Pataudi) decided to watch the Prudential World Cup final. So we all gathered at the O’Brien family’s home in Jameel Lane, Kolkata. My mother never asked how many people were coming to dinner. Crickets or not, there was always an “extra customer”.
Red ball, white jersey, 60 over innings. Brand new color TV. In the last two World Cups, India won only one match (against East Africa) and lost all the other matches.
Gavaskar is out early. Srikanth played some crunchers, including the iconic one-knee square drive from Roberts. Amarnath hooked Marshall for four points. Sandeep Patil’s intimidating persona. 22 last wicket partnership between Saeed Kirmani and Balwinder Sandhu. 183.
I later read that during the innings break, Kapil Dev said, “Team, if this is not a winning total, it is definitely a fighting total.”
I can’t remember who came to buy us a few beers to share with all of us, about 20 years old. I remember a brand called Kalyani Black Label which had high glycerin content. But my father was drinking a different kind of black label – whisky.
Early ticket gate. Sandhu took Gordon Greenidge’s off stump when West Indies’ opening batsman took no stroke. Viv Richards strode in, nonchalantly chewing gum. He smashed seven boundaries, including three in an over from Madan Lal. Meanwhile, seats at Jameel Lane had to be rearranged. Both of us were asked to stand on a narrow balcony next to the living room. The third person was asked to sit on the floor. All it takes is a change in field arrangement to get a Caribbean wicket.
At this stage it seemed unlikely that India would win. Almost impossible. No wonder my father, who was always stingy about sharing his scotch, made a big statement: “If I win, I’ll open a new bottle.” I also declared, “If India wins, we will go on the high road!”
Kapil Dev was trying to take away Madan Lal. Madan Lal asked the captain for an extra over. Viv Richards embarked on a pull. The Indian captain took a magical catch from mid-wicket covering a wide area. Cricket experts say this was the catalyst that changed the game. Travis Head’s catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma was similar in the 2023 final.
Larry Gomez and Clive Lloyd then appeared in quick succession. A stand between wicketkeepers Geoff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall threatened to put West Indies back into the game. Man of the Match Mohinder Amarnath snuffed it out. finally. Michael Holding LBW Amarnath. From 50/1, West Indies were all 140.
Kapil Dev on the Rose Balcony.
Dad kept his promise and toasted. I happily kept my promise and became the first streaker in the south Kolkata neighborhood where we grew up (although I always wore underwear!). Those were different days. So there are no selfies or potentially viral videos to prove that night in June 1983.
The seven of us who watched that game when we were 20 years old are now about 60 years old. During the finals in Ahmedabad, each of us happily made predictions and passed expert comments on our WhatsApp groups. My brother Barry and I live in Kolkata. brothers Andy and David McMahon in Australia; Captain of the Americas. Pradeep Paul from Singapore. Christopher Jones from Hong Kong.
Cricket matches come and go, but friendships last forever.
(Derek O’Brien MP, leading Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha)
Disclaimer: These are the author’s personal opinions.