The 1983 edition of the Cricket World Cup was the most elaborate of all spanning two weeks! And all signs pointed to another West Indian triumph. They had of course won the preceding one-day tournament in Australia featuring Pakistan and were well versed with the conditions in England. Moreover, they were double defending champions and in the truest sense of the word, all-conquering.

But the start to the tournament pointed that the wind was blowing in another direction. England beat New Zealand comprehensively, Pakistan trounced Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe caused an upset beating Australia by 13 runs. But the biggest upset of the opening day was caused when India, unfancied India, beat the mighty West Indies by 34 runs. The stars for India were Yashpal Sharma (89) with the bat and Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri (3 wickets each) with the ball. Overconfidence, said some while others pointed at a minor hiccup in the script.

There were also a few changes that came about in the conduct of the game and umpires were stricter on wides. Another new facet to the game that was introduced in 1983 was the addition of an oval 30 yards around the pitch and the birth of field restrictions. Perhaps the West Indies took a little longer than expected to work things out.

Soon enough, though, normal service resumed and they thumped Australia by 101 runs. Larry Gomes laid Australia low with a fighting 78 and although Geoff Lawson picked up three wickets, it was not enough to stop the West Indian team smarting from a loss to India. For Australia, only David Hookes made any substantial contribution, scoring 45 runs but the pace of Winston Davis (7 for 51) was too much to handle and Australia succumbed by 101 runs.

On the same day, England notched up a massive 333 against Sri Lanka but victory was hard fought. Sri Lanka came within striking distance scoring 286 thanks to a fine 56 by Captain Duleep Mendis and wicketkeeper de Alwis. Graham Dilley was the star for England picking up 4 for 45 and Paul Allott was introduced to the vagaries of the one-day game when he was picked off for 82 runs off his 12 overs. But England managed to keep the Lankans at bay and registered a solid 47-run win.

At Edgbaston on the same day, New Zealand beat Pakistan by 52 runs to throw Group A wide open. After two rounds of matches, England had two wins from two matches while Pakistan and New Zealand had one win and one loss each with everything to play for. In Group B, it was India who was making all the running with two wins out of two with the West Indies and Zimbabwe following closely behind.

Pakistan lost momentum in the next round losing to England while New Zealand beat Sri Lanka to go ahead in the standings. A Zaheer Abbas 83 saved Pakistan the blushes and saw them through to 193 but that was never going to be enough as Graham Fowler (78*) along with David Gower (48) and Allan Lamb (48*) saw England home with 8 wickets to spare. Richard Hadlee, in the meantime, was making waves as he blitzed Sri Lanka with a devastating spell that fetched him 5 for 25 and restricted Sri Lanka to just 206. In reply, Glenn Turner (50), John Wright (45) and captain G Howarth (76) saw New Zealand home safely.

Group B, though, was turned on its head with Australia beating India by a massive 162 runs. This was also the biggest margin of victory in the 1983 World Cup. Trevor Chappell (110), Kim Hughes (52) and Geoff Yallop (66) put Australia in command with a total of 320. Even Kapil Dev's 5 for 43 was not enough to save India the blushes. And as if bowling was not enough, Kapil top-scored in India's reply of 158 all out with a quick 40 off just 27 balls. No one else could offer any substantial contribution. Elsewhere at Worcester, the West Indies were making quick work of Zimbabwe. Andy Roberts and Michael Holding's pace saw the Zimbabweans score only 217 and despite a couple of early wickets, the West Indies were too strong as Gordon Greenidge (107*) and Larry Gomes (75*) saw them home with nearly 12 overs to spare.

Just two days later, the West Indian juggernaut rolled over India and avenged their loss of the opening day. India's campaign had truly hit a roadblock with two losses in as many games. Viv Richards was the wrecker-in-chief for the Windies scoring a marvellous 119 and taking the WI total to 282. In reply, only Mohinder Amarnath stood tall against the pace of Roberts, Holding, Marshall and Davis and scored 80. Kapil Dev managed a late burst of 36, but that apart, India's reply had no sting and they lost by 66 runs. To make matters worse, Australia beat Zimbabwe to avenge their first round loss and was now on level terms with India on points.

In Group A, in the meantime, things were looking up for Pakistan as they beat Sri Lanka by 11 runs in a close match. Imran Khan (102*) and Shahid Mahboob (77) coming to the rescue when Pakistan were tottering at 5/43. Asanka de Mel made his mark on the World Cup picking up 5 for 39. In reply, there were contributions by most batsmen, but no one could hang around long enough to see Sri Lanka home. Eventually, it was the guile of Abdul Qadir (5/44) that wore the Sri Lankans down.

Just two days later, the Sri Lankans did Pakistan another favour! This time they beat New Zealand who could manage only 181 in the face of some fine seam bowling by Asanka de Mel (5/32). Sri Lanka almost made a mess of the chase when a mid-innings collapse saw them fall to 7 for 161 Brendon Kuruppu's 62 Roy Dias' 64 not out were good enough to see them through.

In both groups, the decision of the semi-final slots had come down to the last few matches. The West Indies steamrolled Australia by 7 wickets and India nearly made a mess of a must-win game against Zimbabwe. It was thanks to Kapil Dev's historic 175 not out that India could beat Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. West Indies, by virtue of winning their fourth game had made it to the semi-final but India, despite being ahead of Australia could still have been knocked out. They would now have to play a virtual quarter-final with the winner in all probability advancing.

On the day of the match, things went quite contrary to most expectations. Australia had already trumped India once and most expected them to repeat the performance without too much trouble. India miraculously managed their way to 247 with Extras the second-highest contributor (37) and Yashpal Sharma the best (40). In reply, Australia looked to be on course at 1 for 46 when lightning struck. Madan Lal and Roger Binny ran through the Australian batting picking up 4/20 and 4/29 respectively. A dumbstruck Australia was bowled out for 129 and India had made it to their first ever World Cup semi-final. Elsewhere in Edgbaston, the West Indies made short work of Zimbabwe thanks to a match-winning 172-run opening partnership!

Group A, though, was still precariously poised and Sri Lanka's heroics had thrown the New Zealand plan into a quandary. New Zealand had three wins to their credit as against Pakistan's two and the winner of their match at Trent Bridge would most probably go through. Pakistan came out winners, thanks to a 103* by Zaheer Abbas and a swashbuckling 79 (74) by Imran Khan. New Zealand did make a fight of it, but eventually fell short by just 11 runs. England completed the formalities of the last game beating Sri Lanka by 9 wickets.

But the second semi-finalist from Group A was still unresolved and for the first time in a World Cup, things came down to a better net run rate. Pakistan edged out New Zealand by 4.01 to 3.93 and raised hopes of an India versus Pakistan final. But before that, they had the West Indies to contend with.

Both semi-finals were played on the same day and Pakistan took on the West Indies at the Kensington Oval. Barring an excruciatingly slow 70 (176) by Mohsin Khan, no other Pakistan batsman could stand up to the pace of Marshall and Roberts. A target of 185 was not really going to test the champions much. And when Viv Richards (80*) and Larry Gomes (50*) came together on 56 for 2, they ensured there were no further hiccups. Pakistan's run had been ended as had visions of a final against India.

The other semi-final between hosts England and India proved to be a slightly better game, but England never came to terms with the pressure of the moment, managing only 213 with Graham Fowler's 33 the highest. Kapil Dev (3/35) was leading from the front and was instrumental in wrapping up the England innings. As was the case throughout the innings, Roger Binny, Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad chipped in at the opportune moments to peg England back. India made light work of the England total and cruised home with 5 overs to spare. The stars for India were Mohinder Amarnath (46), Yashpal Sharma (61) and Sandeep Patil (51*).

The unthinkable had come true in a summer fit for fairy tales. India, who had not been given even an outside chance, was one match away from becoming the world champions. But to get there, they would have to get past the champions themselves. And an enthralling finale to the tournament ensued.

West Indies won the toss and predictably, asked India to bat. A poor start and regular fall of wickets never let India set a firm platform. The only partnership of any note (56 runs) came about for the second wicket between Krish Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath. For the West Indies, Roberts, Marshall, Holding, Gomes and Garner all took wickets and a third World Cup win seemed inevitable. The target was a not too testing 184. But cricket isn't a game of glorious uncertainties for nothing!

India had some aces up their sleeve and all of them decided to perform on the biggest day of their career. Although Viv Richards was batting like the king he was, the other end was never settled. And barring a second-wicket partnership of 45 between Haynes and Richards, the West Indies were always playing catch-up! And when Madan Lal accounted for Richards, the West Indies score was 3 for 57 and India felt they had a real chance. Mohinder Amarnath then chipped in with three wickets as did Balwinder Singh Sandhu (2 wickets), Kapil Dev (1 wicket) and Roger Binny (1 wicket). But it was Madan Lal's decisive strike that the West Indies could never recover from. When Amarnath had Michael Holding leg before wicket for 6, history was made.

The West Indies had lost the match by 43 runs but more importantly, they had lost their crown. "An Indian Summer", it was said and so it was! Perhaps fairy tales did come true…

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