The Prudential Cup, the third edition of the Cricket World Cup tournament which was held in England and Wales from 9 to 25 June 1983. The tournament was won by India, and since then it has changed the fortune and destiny of Indian Cricket.
The matches were consisted of 60 overs per innings and were played in traditional white clothing and red balls. All the matches were played in the day time.
Teams that took part in the tournament
India, West Indies, Australia, England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, New Zealand
India’s journey throughout the World Cup
In the first match itself, the Men in Blue delivered a shocker as they thrashed the two time winners West Indies by 34 runs, bowling them out for 228 with 65 balls remaining. This was also the first time West Indies had took a defeat in a World Cup, as they had dominated throughout the previous two cups.
In the meeting against Australia, India were man handled by the mighty Aussies as they succumb to defeat by 162 runs courtesy Trevor Chappell scoring 110 of 131 balls and Ken MacLeay troubling the Indian batters with a bowling figure of 6/39.
The second match played between India and West Indies was the opposite of what happened in the previous affair, West Indies beat India by 66 runs with legendary batsmen Viv Richards making 119. In the match, Dilip Vengsarkar was hit on the chin by the fastest Malcolm Marshall.
India vs Zimbabwe, described as “a remarkable match” by Wisdens cricket, the most spectacular innings by an Indian player in cricket history, the Haryana Hurricane Kapil Dev came to bat when India were 17/5, the skipper went on to score an unbeaten 175 not out to get India at 266/8, which resulted in India winning the match by 31 runs. However, due to the strike of BBC, the match was not broadcasted on television.
The final match of Group B, India vs Australia, which was also for the spot for the qualification. India were bowled out for 247, with the highest score of just 40 by all – rounder Mohinder Amarnath and 37 extras in the innings. Aussies were bowled out for 129, with Madan Lal and Roger Binny scalping up four wickets each.
In the semi – finals at Manchester, English batters only managed 213 on the board with Graeme Fowler the top scorer with 33, Kapil Dev scalped three wickets and Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny picked up two wickets each. Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil guided India to their inaugural World Cup final by making half centuries each and chased down the target in 54.4 overs. Mohinder Amarnath was the MOM for his all round performance as he added 46 runs as well with the bat.
Final, India vs West Indies, India being put to bat were all ripped up by the West Indies bowling line up with only Krishnamachari Srikanth and Mohinder Amarnath contributing with the bat. India were bowled out for 183. However, miracle, Windies were bowled out for 140 in 52 overs, it is still the lowest total defended in a World Cup final. Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each, Amarnath was again awarded the MOM for his all-round performance.
Statistics
Leading run scorer
David Gower (England) – 384 runs
Leading wicket taker
Roger Binny (India) – 18 wickets
