The final of the 1983 Prudential Cup was played between India and West Indies at Lord's on 25 June 1983. This was the third consecutive World Cup final appearance for West Indies. India playing their first finals defeated the West Indies to claim the title. It was the first World Cup win for India.
Background
The match was the third consecutive World Cup final hosted at Lord's, following those in 1975 and 1979. India was making their first appearance at a World Cup final after defeating England by 6 wickets in the first semi-finals. This was also the first appearance by an Asian nation in a World Cup final. West Indies reached a third consecutive final after defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets runs in the second semi-final. Previously, they had won finals in 1975 and 1979.
Match details
After losing the toss, India were asked to bat first against a West Indies team that arguably boasted the world's best bowling attack. Gavaskar, who had an unsuccessful tournament was the first batsman got dismissed. Andy Roberts had Gavaskar caught by Jeff Dujon for 2. But K Srikkanth and M Amarnath had a good partnership taking India past the 50 mark. Soon Srikkanth lost his wicket for an aggressive 38 to Marshall. His seven boundaries included one memorable on-the-knees square drive off Andy Roberts. As India was approaching the 100 runs mark, M Amarnath lost his wicket to a beauty from Holding for 26. Yashpal Sharma fell to part-time spinner L Gomes and suddenly Indian score slipped to 92/4. Skipper Kapil Dev struck 3 boundaries in his 8 balls 15 as he was caught at boundary off Gomes and Kirti Azad was back in the pavilion without scoring reeling India at 111/6. Roger Binny too could n't cross the double figure mark. Sandeep Patil made 27 before he was dismissed as the 8th wicket as the total read 153/8. All rounder Madan Lal soon followed for 17 with last manBalwinder Sandhu joining wicket keeperSyed Kirmani. Both had a 10th wicket partnership of 22 runs before Holding clean bowled Kirmani for 14. India could n't survive the stipulated 60 overs as they were bowled out for 183 in 54.4 overs, a below par score in a final. Only three sixes were hit in the Indian innings, one from Srikkanth, one from Sandeep Patil, and one from Madan Lal For West Indies, Roberts claimed 3 wickets with Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and Larry Gomes claiming 2 wickets apiece. Joel Garner was the most economical bowler with 2 runs per over claiming the wicket of Patil. Chasing the target of 184 to win their third World cup in a row, West Indies were surprised by Sandhu as he famously clean bowled Gordon Greenidge with a huge inswinger to which the batsman had shouldered arms. Soon West Indies crossed 50 with Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards batting smoothly. Madan Lal struck for India by dismissing Haynes first and later Viv Richards as West Indies fell to 57/3. Viv Richards was in aggressive mood as he struck 7 boundaries in his quickfire 33 off 28, however Indian skipper Kapil Dev, who had deployed himself at short mid-wicket, ran backwards and caught Richards over his shoulder, as the batsman mistimed a pull shot off Madan Lal, who also claimed his 3rd wicket in the form of Larry Gomes with the score reading 66/4. Kapil Dev once again rose to the occasion as he caught West Indies Skipper Clive Lloyd off Roger Binny reeling West Indies at 66/5. Soon Faoud Bacchus lost his wicket to Sandhu. Wicket keeper Jeff Dujon and all rounder Malcolm Marshall tried a rescue act with a 43 runs partnership. But M Amarnath dismissed both of them in quick succession as the defending champions fell to 124/8. Soon Kapil Dev trapped Andy Roberts in front of the wicket and Amarnath clean bowled Michael Holding dismissing West indies for 140 in 52 overs, helping India to lift their maiden Cricket World cup. Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the best batting line-up of the era, winning by 43 runs and completing one of the most stunning upsets in cricket history, defeating the previously invincible West Indies. For India, Madan Lal claimed 3 wickets, while Sandhu claimed 2 wickets. Kapil Dev had an economical rate of 1.90 runs per over, but Amarnath was the most successful bowler, conceding just 12 runs from his seven overs while taking 3 wickets, and was once again awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance. There was no "Man of the Series" award in 1983.
Scorecard
Indian Innings
Fall of wickets 1-2, 2–59, 3–90, 4–92, 5–110, 6–111, 7–130, 8–153, 9–161, 10–183
Bowling
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Andy Roberts
10
3
32
3
3.20
Joel Garner
12
4
24
1
2.00
Malcolm Marshall
11
1
24
2
2.18
Michael Holding
9.4
2
26
2
2.68
Larry Gomes
11
1
49
2
4.45
Viv Richards
1
0
8
0
8.00
West Indies Innings
Fall of wickets 1-5, 2-50, 3-57, 4-66, 5-66, 6-76, 7-119, 8-124, 9-126, 10-140
