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Silencing The Calypso

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Silencing The Calypso
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Three World Cups and almost 13 years later, the 1983 final atLord’s and the scenes that followed its end remain vivid in the mind’s eye.

As, on that June morning, I went through a reporter’s pre-matchroutine of preparing the note book and scrolling a sheet of paper on the typewriter, Ihardly imagined that the task ahead would entail recording the events of a day that wouldusher in a new era in the history of Indian cricket.

When Clive Lloyd won the toss and put India in, it would have beenfanciful to visualise Lord’s being swamped at the end of the day by jubilant Indiansupporters rather than those of the West Indies, beating out the rhythm of the Calypsowith tin cans and dancing to it as they had done in 1975 and 1979. The reigning championswere clear favourites. The team that Lloyd led out that day was the strongest everassembled for a limited-overs contest.

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Odds on a West Indian victory became even shorter after the toss for,in most instances, its loss in a Lord’s final has proved tantamount to a deathwarrant. To have surmounted this initial setback and successfully defended a meagre totalwas a miracle and nothing less.

At this distance of time, the scorecard does not reflect batting ofmuch distinction by India. But Srikkanth’s innings of 38, if not impressive forsubstance, remains unforgettable for flair and daring. All but four of Srikkanth’sruns came in boundaries. Twice he hooked Andy Roberts, then the purveyor of the meanestbouncer in the game. Forcing him thus to pitch the ball up, Srikkanth folded his legs intoa near-kneel and square-drove the mighty fast bowler with stunning ferocity.

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Unquestionably, this was the shot of the match. The Indians in thecrowd, depressed by the swift exit of Gavaskar, were stirred. Mohinder Amarnath, composedand brave, was the perfect foil to Srikkanth. His brief was to hold the fort throughGarner’s spell and he staunchly delivered the goods, playing an innings worth morethan his 26 runs.

The dismissal of Kapil Dev for only 15 would have proved a mortal blow but for thespirited wag of the tail. But the cheering from the crowd as the last three wickets added53 runs, which more than accounted for the margin of victory, was muted and appearedforced. It seemed to spring more from loyalty than hope or conviction.

Despite the modest total, India took the field in buoyant spirit whichmade itself manifest in the summary dismissal of Greenidge. His opening partner, Haynes,was also denied a notable contribution but, by the time he was brought to book, the totalhad reached 50 for King Viv was batting in all his pomp.

The ball was swinging and deviating off the seam and yet it neverfailed to locate the middle of the great man’s bat. Richards was in the mood in whichhe would recognise only his own genius, taking no cognisance of the situation or the factthat Lloyd, no sooner had he arrived, incurred a major hamstring injury.

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Richards stormed his way to 33 off only 28 balls, with seven fours, andaiming for another with a contemptuous swing at Madan Lal, lofted the ball to mid-wicketwhere Kapil Dev, running back withthe ball coming off his shoulder, took a magnificentcatch.

The excitement over Richards’ dismissal had barely died down whenMadan Lal struck for the third time in a span of 19 balls, removing Gomes and reducing theWest Indies to 66 for four. Lloyd’s footwork was too impaired and an attempted driveat Binny proved fatal. Bacchus followed his skipper and with 108 runs needed, the WestIndies had only four wickets left. With enough overs to go, Dujon and Marshall appliedthemselves, putting on 43 with relative comfort.

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However, with the departure of Dujon, whom Amarnath caused to play on,the West Indies subsided without further resistance. Match winner in the semi-finals,Amarnath had done the trick again. He deservedly won the Man of the Match award. Also inthe reckoning was Kapil Dev’s forthright, charismatic leadership. It is hard to thinkof another captain who could have seen India through the defence of a total as modest as183.

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