Legends are born sometimes, but he was really an epic

India lost their dream of a second World Cup when the ball bounced off veteran spinner Eddie Hemings and into the hands of Mike Gatting. The batsman was caught at the crease in the excitement of hitting the ball to the boundary just before the end of the catch. With five wickets in hand, India needed 87 runs to win. But there was no one else who would come later, like the hero who went to play the role of a savior in the tragedy and bowed his head out. Kapil Dev is still young in the minds of cricket lovers in the eighties.

Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe in Trent Bridge Wells was his determination to hold the Prudential World Cup close to India's chest on June 25, 1983 on Lord's' balcony. In 1983, India was a team that was written off as incapable of even a single fight and did not even look like a televised match. But things changed after that June at Kapil Dev's address. Kapil Dev is now 60 years old. Kapil is still India's captain for those who witnessed the Caribbean team win the World Cup for the third time in a row, beating an unprecedented team.

It was in 1983 that India defeated the West Indies in the final to become world champions. Thus India came to be known as 'Kapil's Devils'. Four more years later, India itself hosted the World Cup. Kapil Dev was India's hope. He led it from the front, guarding it. But that shot, which failed against England in the semi-finals, shattered India's dreams of retaining the title.

Still, victory could be won if needed. Mohammad Azharuddin, on the other hand, was in excellent form at the crease. Ravi Shastri, who has the ability to work wonders, was about to come. Manoj Prabhakar, Kiran More and Chetan Sharma were the ones who could capture victory if needed. But with the fall of Kapil, their self-confidence was shattered. Azhar Eddie Hemmings C was the top scorer with 64 off 36 balls. India lost by 35 runs when Shastri was dismissed for a goalless draw. India were in brilliant form in that World Cup series.

They also defeated defending champions Australia in a group match. In the exhibition match that preceded the inauguration, Pakistan (which was later considered an international match). In the group stage, India lost to Australia by one run and then reached the semi-finals undefeated. Meanwhile, in the second match, they defeated Australia by 56 runs. New Zealand and Zimbabwe have lost twice. If they had qualified for the semi-finals, they would have beaten Australia in the final in that form ...

But India were punishing the captain who won the World Cup from scratch and reached the semi-finals of the next World Cup. Kapil was not the captain in the India - West Indies series at the end of that year. Weng was the government. Kapil was not even given the job of interim captain when Weng Sarkar was ruled out of the final Test of the series due to injury. Ravi Shastri captained the team.

How can you forget that 175 ..?

1983 June 18. Exactly one week before India won the World Cup. India face Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge Wells. India won the toss and elected to bat Sunil Gavaskar is out for zero before the run is broken on the scoreboard. Soon after, Krishnamachari Srikanth was out for no runs. Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma are also marching to the dressing room. Five wickets for 17 runs.

The organizers were alarmed. Although there are not many spectators, the game seems to end before noon. When news agencies started writing commentaries accordingly. Kapil Dev, 24, who was only four months old when he took over as captain, was the sixth to reach the crease. The sixth wicket fell when Roger Binny teamed up to take the score to 77. When another run was added, Ravi Shastri returned the wicket. Seven out of 78. Possibility of crossing 100.

When Madan Lal came on for the eighth wicket, Kapil, on the other hand, was on his way to repair the innings alone. When it somehow reached 140, Madanlal also gave up. 140 for eight. Kapil had one thing to say to wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, who came to the crease in the ninth, 'You have to hold on for 60 overs no matter what. I won the rest .. '(ODI was 60 overs then).

Then what Trent Bridge Wells saw was murder. The day Kapil turned into a real devil. Kapil scored his first ODI century for India at a time when not a single Indian has scored an ODI century. As mentioned, Kirmani stood with him for 60 overs. At the end of the match, India scored 266 for eight.

Kapil Dev scored 175 not out. That too in just 138 balls. 16 fours measuring the boundaries of the field. Six sixes that broke the sky. Kapil's 175 was the highest score by an Indian until Sourav Ganguly hit 183 a long time later. India won the match by 31 runs and advanced to the final.

Tendulkar, Sehwag and Rohit all scored double centuries in ODIs, but I do not remember a single innings equal to Kapil's 175. 'We have nothing to lose, don't drop a ball. It must be caught even if it is dead. When we return, we will have a cup in our hand. World Cup ... '

The hero himself showed it from the front. 30 weeks back with a catch by Vivian Richards C. West Indies captain Clive Lloyd's deadly shot proved once again. Finally, when Michael Holding was caught in front of the ball by Amarnath, the Lord's won by 43 runs and won the World Cup. Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhan, a Haryana native, made his debut in Indian cricket at a time when Indian bowling was only the spin tactics of Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Venkata Raghava. The nickname was changed to Haryana Express.

Kapil was the greatest all-rounder in world cricket when he took over the wicket of Sadiq Mohammadi against Pakistan in Faisalabad on October 16, 1978. While Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee and Ian Botha were on fire, Kapil worked wonders from the dead pitch on the Indian subcontinent. Kapili's bowling action has never been seen before in the world.

Kapil retired from Test cricket in March 1994 at the age of 34 against New Zealand in Hamilton with an unbeaten all - round record of 5248 and 434 in Test cricket. The greatest desire of a player is to retire from the midst of his beloved fans. But the Indian cricket authorities did not allow Kapil Dev, who had long shrugged off Indian cricket.

Kapil was not waiting for anyone's generosity. That personality has shone so brightly on and off the field. In a sense, Kapil was the starter in the IPL that is rocking the Indian subcontinent today. The initiative came with the ICL (Indian Cricket League) Twenty20 League and became a target for the BCCI.

He has no habit of hiding in front of anyone. So Kapil could not last long as the coach of the Indian team. Kapil was therefore unable to sit in the top chairs of the BCCI's money-making movement. However, Indian cricket is the first name that comes to mind. Epics are born from time to time. Kapil was really an epic ...

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