From looking the Caribbean giants in the eye to lifting the trophy at Lord's, here’s wishing Kapil Dev a happy 64th

Whenever we Indians talk about Kapil Dev, the most obvious discussion is that of his iconic 175 that saved the Indians the blushes of an early exit after a buoyed start to the 1983 World Cup. Tagged as a force of fluke that managed to take down West Indies, Kapil Dev changed the narrative to that of a hungry young kid who was new on the block and exhibited every single right to retain their residency.

This story that follows is not of that glass-shattering rampage that the Indian captain launched at Tunbridge Wells but this is a story of the man himself who despite being on the periphery in terms of numbers, played the most pivotal role of binding the team in a consolidated ligature that did not unravel until the Indians had their hands on the hallowed silverware for the first time despite the chips being completely down for a brief moment.

The story starts at Manchester where India was to play their opening match and they were up against the two-time World Champions who were steamrolling any opposition that came their way. As a flurry of towering monsters steamed in at the batters, the most obvious emotion was fear. And India had three of their finest batters back in the hut even before they could cross 100. As the world waited for a staggering humiliation to unfold, there was a visage that stayed unfazed as Yashpal Sharma battled with his life on the line, dragging India to a respectable 262.

Kapil couldn’t add much in terms of batting but he opened the bowling for India. Despite not being able to claim wickets as India would have wanted, he kept things pretty tight against the mighty likes of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Hayes. As Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri chipped away at the crucial scalps, it was Kapil’s miserly figures that forced West Indies to target the others, eventually losing sight of the plot. As India basked in ethereal glory, drubbing the mighty Windies, Kapil Dev was unwavering from his sight of taking India a step further.

Up next was a star-studded Zimbabwe that featured the likes of Grant Paterson, Andy Pycroft, Duncan Fletcher, and a rampaging Kevin Curran. However, India’s confidence soared through the roofs as the Zimbabweans could barely withstand the Indian bowling with Kapil Dev razing through the hapless defenses of the Zimbabwean skipper back then and legend, Duncan Fletcher. He finished with figures of 9-3-18-1 while the Indians rode high on Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil to script an easy win at Leicester.

Just when it felt that with the two opening wins, India will be going from strength to strength, the mighty Australians provided a reality check. Trevor Chappell, Kim Hughes, and Graham Yallop were the tormentors-in-chief of India despite Kapil Dev’s valiant battle. This was Kapil’s maiden fifer in a World Cup as he bagged the crucial scalps of Kepler Wessels, Rod Marsh, Ken Macleay, Tom Hogan, and Geoff Lawson. Unfortunately, the Indian batters couldn’t keep things afloat against the mighty Australian bowling but Kapil Dev put in a staunch shift with the bat too as he managed to dish out a warring 40 from just 27 balls but that wasn’t enough to stave away the Australians.

Things went from bad to worse for the Indians as the West Indies avenged their earlier defeat, piling a resounding shellacking upon India as their batters stumbled again in front of the mighty death threat that the Caribbean bowlers posed. With this defeat, India’s chances of survival were barely dangling by a thread and as the tensions erupted in the dressing room, it was Kapil Dev who stood up. He stuck around his team members and calmed their nerves even though his own were on the fringes of a big bang.

However, it wasn’t easy sailing for Kapil, nor his teammates as they were reduced to a mortifying 17 for 5 with Zimbabwe razing through the Indian top-order. What followed thereafter is simply the stuff of folklore as the Indian captain strode out to face the grisly Zimbabweans ravenous for blood, like a Roman emperor braced for full impact and yet he would hack away at an army that would not relent unless they had seen him perish. Peter Rawson, Kevin Curran, Iain Buchart, Duncan Fletcher, and John Traicos kept on coming at Kapil in waves and the Indian captain kept on bludgeoning them to the stands with a might unseen, with a fire unextinguished and most importantly with the will to survive. By the time he was done with his rampage, India had 266 on the cards and Madan Lal’s impressive bowling helped India stay afloat.

However, that was not the end of the road as Australia came knocking. India, aware of the fact that they will have to fight in unison, came together under the leadership of Kapil and kept on battling Australia with everything they had and at the end of it all, a collective effort from the Indian batters saw them pile up 247 on the cards. Surprisingly, the mighty Australians could not even budge in front of the Indian bowling as Madan Lal and Roger Binny razed through the reckoning Aussie batting like a fireball through glass skittles. India was through to the semis and a man smiled silently in the ruffled corners.

Well, what happened thereafter is known to everyone as India rattled through the likes of England in the semis and outraced West Indies in the finale to lift the Prudential World Cup but even in the face of the worst calamities, if there was one man who stood unfazed, who stood undaunted, it was the Indian captain, Kapil Dev. He made the impossible happen. Here’s wishing the man with the golden arm, Kapil Dev a very happy 64th birthday.