Indian cricket team celebrated its first-ever ICC World Cup triumph in 1983 and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who featured in all World Cup matches, recalled it 'Independence Day for cricket in India'. India celebrates their 77th Independence Day on August 15, 2023, and cricket has contributed a few unforgettable memories to make it more special over the years.
The current India men's cricket team has been a dominant force across formats for the last few years but it was not the same case till India's glory in the 1983 World Cup. Kapil Dev-led side pulled off something impossible to stun the world and to add a golden feather to India's history. That glory played a big role in cricket's popularity and now this game is India's one of the most valuable assets to parade around the globe proudly.
Indian cricket team added two more ICC World Cup titles to its cabinet in 2007 and 2011 bringing more memories for Indians to celebrate on each Independence Day. So, let's take a ride back to memory lane to remember the Indian cricket team's historic glory in three ICC World Cup tournaments as we celebrate Independence Day 2023.
1983 World Cup:
India recorded only one win across the first two editions of the ICC World Cup tournaments in 1975 and 1979. So, the fans were not expecting anything special when the team travelled to England for the third edition in 1983. Kapil Dev-led side with the veteran batter Sunil Gavaskar in the team kicked off their World Cup campaign by beating the two-time champions West Indies in their opening group-stage game.
They also beat star-studded Australia and Zimbabwe in their group-stage games to find a place in the semi-final round. Reaching the last four was itself a mega achievement for the team but that didn't stop their run in the tournament. They further made India proud by beating the hosts England in the semi-final with a dominant six-wicket win.
In the final, they faced the Caribbean giants again who were clear favourites to record a hat-trick of World Cup wins. But India stood strong against mighty West Indies to clinch a 43-run win at London's iconic stadium, Lord's. It was a team victory that produced an all-round display to forever go into India's history book.
Kapil Dev top-scored with 300 runs and Roger Binny shone with a ball by taking record 18 wickets in the tournament but the biggest contribution came through Yashpal Sharma, Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal.
2007 T20 World Cup:
After the World Cup triumph in 1983, Indian cricket quickly established itself as one of the most consistent performers in mega tournaments. They reached the final of the ICC ODI World Cup in 1983 under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy but suffered a huge defeat against a too-strong Australian team. The team also suffered an embarrassing exit in the ICC ODI World Cup 2007 and then entered the first edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 with a fresh young team and new captain MS Dhoni.
India had played only one T20I game before entering the World Cup in 2007. Their first game against Scotland was washed away due to rain and the second game against Pakistan was tied (but India won it on Bowl Out result). They suffered a defeat against New Zealand in their third game in the tournament but made a memorable comeback later.
Yuvraj Singh created history by smashing six consecutive sixes off England's Stuart Broad in their last group-stage game. Yuvraj's 12-ball fifty helped India win against England and then they dominated Australia in the semi-final with the all-rounder playing another explosive knock of 70 off 30.
Pakistan also reached the final to make it a more intense clash in Johannesburg on September 24. India scored 157 runs while batting first with Gautam Gambhir top-scoring with 75 runs. Then India's pace attack dominated Pakistani batters to pull off a thrilling five-run win in the last over. Irfan Pathan won the Player of the Match award in the final but Yuvraj Singh made the biggest impact giving India their second ICC World Cup title.
2011 ODI World Cup:
After their heroics in the 2007 T20 World Cup, India had to wait only four years to taste another ICC World Cup glory. MS Dhoni was leading the team for the first in ODI World Cup and it was more special for the fans and the nation for one special reason. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar was playing in his last World Cup and the team was adamant about giving him a memorable farewell.
India entered the tournament as favourites due to home advantage and thrashed Bangladesh in the opening clash with Virender Sehwag smashing 175 runs and youngster Virat Kohli recording his first-ever World Cup hundred. India dominated the group stages with four wins in six games having tied against England. They suffered only one narrow last-over defeat which came against South Africa while defending 296 in Nagpur.
Then Sachin Tendulkar took charge by recording back-to-back fifties in knockout stages against Australia and Pakistan. He smashed 85 runs against Pakistan in the semis to boost India to the summit clash against the mighty Sri Lankan team at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Sri Lanka put a challenging 275-run target while batting first with Mahela Jayawardene scoring a century.
While chasing a tough total, India lost their openers Sachin and Sehwag in the first seven overs but Gambhir and Dhoni's brilliant fifty kept India alive in the chase. Gambhir top-scored with 97 runs while Dhoni remained unbeaten to finish the game by smashing a match-winning six in the 49th over. Dhoni's history-making six remains in fans' memories to date as it gave India their third ICC World Cup title.
Sachin Tendulkar top-scored for India with 482 runs while the veteran pacer Zaheer Khan took 18 wickets. Dhoni won the Player of the Match award for his 91* off 79 knock and Yuvraj Singh bagged the Player of the Series title for scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets. Virat Kohli lifted Sachin on his shoulder during a victory parade at Wankhede and then continued Sachin's legacy by dominating world cricket to date.
