Kapil Dev blasted 175 against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup match at Turnbridge Wells but sadly, there will never be any video footage of that match as the broadcasters were on strike.
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June 18, 1983 is a very auspicious day in the history of Indian cricket. On that day, in the small town of Tunbridge Wells, India staged a miraculous recovery. Kapil Dev redefined the word leading from the front as he produced a splendid knock. India were staring down the barrel at 17/5, but Kapil Dev came to the crease and proceeded to change the entire course of the match. He blasted 175 off 138 balls, the highest score by an Indian player at that time. The knock included 16 fours and six sixes.
The next highest score in that innings was 24 by Syed Kirmani. India recovered to 266/8. Kapil contributed with the ball with 1/32 as India managed to win the match by 31 runs. However, when one does a video search for Kapil Dev’s 175, you will never find it on Youtube or any other channel. Why? Because Kapil Dev‘s knock of 175 was never telecast.
Let that thought sink in. The greatest knock in the history of Indian cricket will not have any kind of video coverage. What were the main reasons that Kapil’s knock was not broadcast? Here are the reasons
The original myth was that the BBC, the host broadcaster for the 1983 World Cup was on strike. However, that report has no merit and has never been factually justified. There was one fact at that time. The resource crunch of the BBC is what prevented Kapil Dev’s masterpiece from coming to TV screens and from there, video networks all over the world.
On June 18, four matches were played. But, the BBC had only two TV crews to broadcast the match. It was stated that England vs Pakistan and West Indies vs Australia would be telecast. It was hard to ignore the evidence at that time. West Indies were the top team, Australia was the second-best, England were the host nation and since Pakistan was playing the hosts, they had to be part of the limelight.
India had not set the world on fire. So, the India vs Zimbabwe and New Zealand vs Sri Lanka clash were not telecast by BBC. It would prove to be such a disappointment for India cricket. If that is not disappoint, one does not understand what is.
The lack of video footage hurts. It is similar to what Asian teams like Pakistan used to feel when their team went to the Caribbean to do war with the mighty West Indies. Only recently, footage emerged of the epic 1988 Test series between West Indies and Pakistan. News channels would just take the footage and use it for their sporting news for 30 seconds to one minute.
Thus, Kapil Dev’s 175 will forever be remembered as a knock that had no footage. This was an important knock for India in many ways. Zimbabwe had beaten Australia and they were eager to add one more victim in their list. India had won against the West Indies but they lost by 162 runs to Australia. A loss to Zimbabwe would have meant that their campaign was on the verge of collapse.
India recovered primarily through the genius of Kapil Dev’s 175. After that knock, India won against Australia by 118 runs to enter the semi-finals. In that match, India got the better of England at Old Trafford to enter their maiden final.
At Lord’s, India batted first but were blown away by the might of the West Indies pacers. Krishnamachari Srikkanth was the top-scorer with 38. Some resistance from the tail helped India reach 183 all out. Once again, it was Kapil Dev that gave India the decisive moment. Viv Richards was batting like a train and he had raced to 31. Madan Lal bowled a short ball and Richards mistimed the pull shot. Kapil Dev ran back and took the catch near the boundary at deep square leg.
The catch changed the entire momentum of the match. Mohinder Amarnath, who had hit a gritty 26, took 3/12 and India won the match by 43 runs. The maiden World Cup win put Indian cricket on the global map and since then, they have been a superpower. But, the seeds of India’s World Cup glory were sown at Turnbridge Wells. It is a shame that there will never be any footage from that match.
