Birthday special: What records Kapil Dev's team achieved at the Prudential Cup

In the fabric of Indian cricket, there are a few names that have been imbricated with laurels wrapped all around them and have been embossed in golden letters. Kapil Dev is one such bedecked name in the history of Indian cricket.

One of the most dominating all-rounders in ODIs and Test cricket, Dev launched India in the international circuit with zeal and hunger to win a trophy on the road. Most importantly, he led the charge from the front with exotic displays both with the willow and the leather that travelled lightyears to allow India to clinch their first major trophy in cricketing antiquity.

As we celebrate Kapil Dev’s 63rd birthday, we will take a look at a few staggering statistics which were racked up by the icon and his compatriots in the 1983 World Cup that is also known as the Prudential Cup, a bloody contest of grit, tenacity and nerves which India finally managed to win after years of humiliation at the hands of the world.

• The Indian bowlers managed to claim the highest number of wickets in the group stages with 58 scalps that put them ahead of stalwarts like West Indies, Australia and England.
• Yashpal Sharma managed to stun the reigning champions with a blistering knock of 89 in India’s very first game of the 83 World Cup that to date remains his highest score.
• From all the bowlers who managed to bowl 15 overs and more in the Prudential Cup, India’s Kirti Azad managed to rack up the most economical figures with an economy rate of 2.47 that upstaged that of the legend, Malcolm Marshall.
• The Indian fast bowlers ran riots against the formidable Australians both the times they clashed with each other. Kapil Dev led the charge with 5 for 43, which to date remains the best bowling figures by an Indian against Australia in the ODI World Cup. Madan Lal and Roger Binny came up with figures of 4 for 20 and 4 for 29 respectively at Chelmsford to derail the Aussies.
• Kapil Dev’s 175 still remains the highest score racked up by an Indian captain in the ODI World Cup.
• Kapil Dev’s fifer against Australia at Trent Bridge was the first time an Indian cricketer racked up five wickets in the World Cup and he also became the first-ever captain to claim this historic feat.
• Kapil Dev’s thunderous grab to dismiss Sir Vivian Richards was just a glimpse of his overall fielding brilliance in the World Cup that saw him becoming the most successful outfielder in the tournament with seven catches.
• Alongside Kapil Dev’s rollicking 175, Syed Kirmani played a crucial role in dropping the anchor at the other end. The duo stitched a fine stand of 126 runs for the 9th wicket that is still the highest stand for the position and was the only century stand for India till then.
• Kapil Dev is the only captain in the history of the ODI World Cup to have scored a century and claim a fifer in the same edition of the tournament.
• In a world full of terror and raining bullets from the arms of the towering fast bowlers, Sandeep Patil peppered England with his own brand of aggression that saw him rack up a 32-ball-50 in the semi-final. That was the fastest half-century in the Prudential Cup.