The great West Indies captain had some unique thoughts on India’s 1983 World Cup victory.
Many observers believe that India’s 1983 World Cup victory was the turning point that changed the sport in the country. Clive Llyod, a former West Indies captain who led his team to the finals but ultimately lost, argued that the outcome was good for cricket. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the historic victory, and Llyod made a fascinating insight into the outcome during a conversation on Backstage With Boria.
It was a great team effort to bowl India out for 183, and on most days we could comfortably chase down that total. However, from a cricketing perspective, this is excellent news. The game in India was transformed into something new, and the rest of the cricketing world reaped the rewards.
As the defending champions from 1975 and 1979, the West Indies were the clear favorites going into the finals. They won their group with a perfect record of five wins and one loss (against India). They had defeated Pakistan in the semi-finals by an eight-wicket margin.
India shocked the world by winning the World Cup for the first time. As an underdog narrative par excellence, it is proudly shared from one generation to the next. It began India’s meteoric ascension to cricket superpower status and the spark that ignited a nationwide obsession with the sport. Kapil Dev’s famous legacy and the history of Indian cricket are epitomized by the iconic photograph of the ‘Haryana Hurricane’ proudly hoisting the trophy.
Even though we won a series against the Indians in the winter of 1983, we always believed that India will eventually become a cricketing powerhouse. The confidence boost that India’s World Cup triumph provided was unprecedented in the sport. He said, “It was fantastic for your cricket.”
