India’s miracle run in the Cricket World Cup in 1983 is the stuff of legend in cricket. After managing to secure wins against Zimbabwe and Australia in historic innings, India was ready to face off against hosts England. Despite upsets earlier in the tournament, no one expected that on June 22 1983, India would beat England and knock the favoured hosts out of the tournament.
Playing at Old Trafford, England won the toss and skipper Bob Willis elected to bat first. The opening partnership of Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare started off strong. Scoring 33 of 59 balls and 32 off of 51 balls, respectively, a significant pace for the time. But the duo was bowled out by Roger Binny.
It was here that Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad came to work. Choking the English middle-order, the hosts started to flounder. David Gower mistimed a ball and got caught by Syed Kirmani on a beautiful delivery from Amarnath. Allan Lamb was run out as he tried to pick up vital runs with some stroke play. Amarnath struck again with Mike Gatting being bowled out for just 18 runs. Indian skipper Kapil Dev cleared up the tail-end of the batting order with an economical performance while Azad bowled for 12 overs for just 28 runs. It would speak volumes about the English order when Fowler was the highest scorer with 33. England put up a total of 213 in 60 overs.
When India came to bat the English side did their best to strangle their batting prowess with the older ball. Openers Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth were bowled out quickly for just 25 and 19 runs respectively. But third down the order, it was Amarnath that shone again. Scoring a blistering 46 off 92 balls, he also made a 92-run stand with Yashpal Sharma for the third wicket.
Sharma then proceeded to slam down a total of 61 off 115 balls along with Sandeep Patil who scored an unbeaten 51 off just 32 deliveries to score the match-winning 63-run partnership. It was a result that no one had expected but it did mean that India had secured itself a berth in the finals against West Indies, which it would go on to win in another stunning upset.
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