On this day, June 25, 1983, India bagged the cricket World Cup trophy for the first time. India defeated the West Indies in the final of 1983 World Cup (officially called as the Prudential Cup 1983). It was the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament which was organised in England and Wales.
The 1983 World Cup tournament began on June 9, 1983 and ended on June 25, 1983. All the ODI matches consisted of 60 overs per innings. Eight teams participated in the tournament. These were England, India, Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and New Zealand. The teams were divided in two groups. Every team played twice with other teams of its group. The top two teams from each group qualified for the semi-finals.
India was in group B along with West Indies, Australia and Zimbabwe. India and West Indies qualified for the semi-finals. India was led by captain Kapil Dev. In the other group, England and Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals. After winning the semi-final match against England by 6 wickets, India was set to play the final against West Indies, who defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals.
In the final match, India lost the toss and was asked to bat first. Indian batsmen failed, the West Indian bowlers were too good for them, the Indian team managed to score only 183/10 in 54.4 overs. Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls) and Mohinder Amarnath (26 from 80 balls) were the highest scorer from Indian side. But Indian team didn’t lose hope and attacked the West Indies batsmen in the second innings with tough bowling. With brilliant bowling performances from Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal, who took three wickets each, India bowled out the West Indian batsmen at the score of 140 from 52 overs. Mohinder Amarnath was given the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his all-round performance.
