Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath after winning the 1983 World Cup. (Express photo) West Indies were beaten by India in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final in a famous match at Lord’s. West Indies, who were the defending champions and had won the previous two World Cups, were heavily favored to win but India pulled off a stunning upset, winning by 43 runs to claim their first World Cup title.
However, in a recent interview, former West Indies pacer Andy Roberts said that India simply got lucky and revealed that he wasn’t impressed with the Kapil Dev-led India team.
“We were in form, but due for a bad game. It was just India’s luck in 1983. Because of that great team that we had, we lost two games in 1983, both to India. And then, five or six months later, we beat India 6-0. So, it was just that game. Luck went India’s way after they were dismissed for 180-odd. We weren’t outplayed. We just lost the game. It was not overconfidence or complacency,” Roberts was quoted as saying in an interview on Sportstar.
“Among the batsmen, I was not impressed by anyone in particular. No one got a fifty. Among the bowlers, no one got a 5-fer or even a 4-fer. So, I was not particularly impressed. Batsmen impress when you play a top-quality innings. And no one from India did that,” he added.
According to Roberts the wicket of Viv Richards was the turning point of the match.
“I think it was when Viv (Richards) got out. We could never recover. The only difference in the finals is that in 1975 and 1979, we were inserted. In ’83, we batted second. That was the difference,” he said.
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