That innings belong to us, all of India, as it came from a man whose batting style was totally uncomplicated. He was skillful but carefree; he was sublime but error-prone. He was a leader and a rebel with an undying positive approach.
We always dreamt of playing knocks to that effect in galli cricket; but this man played it on the biggest stage: the World Cup.
And, to add to the mystic, that piece of gold remains a mystery even now as the match was never televised nor captured in video. Hence critics, players and Level III coaches can't dissect/analyse that knock and molest its immortality.
It's quite obvious that we are talking about Kapil Dev's 175 not out against Zimbabwe in a group game during the 1983 World Cup at Tunbridge Wells. Today (Wednesday) is the silver jubilee of that golden lining.
It's interesting to note that the venue (Nevill Ground) hasn't hosted a single ODI hence. That was the only ODI played at Kent's stadium which hosts 4,500 spectators. (Even the 1996 World Cup West Indies-Kenya match, part of history now, was played at an irregular venue like Pune.)
Fine, Kapil's knock came against lowly Zimbabwe and on a small ground. And opposite skipper Duncan Fletcher, who had starred in Zimbabwe's shock win over Australia in the same World Cup, could have made a mistake by removing successful bowlers (Rowson and Curran) out of the attack after their initial spells of 7-8 overs.
But the knock couldn't have come at a better moment. After all, a spot in the semis was at stake. India were reeling at 17-5 in this 60-over game before Kapil decided to take centrestage. And out of his 175, hundred came in boundaries (16x4s, 6x6s, 138 balls, 181 mins). And if memory has woken up from the right side of bed, there was also a ‘ran four' with Syed Kirmani.
Kapil and Kirmani had an unbeaten 126-run stand for the ninth wicket. It still remains the highest ninth wicket partnership in ODIs. Kirmani's 24 was the second-highest of the Indian innings. In the end, India posted 266 and won by 31 runs with Kapil sealing it with caught and bowled of last man John Traicos.
Kapil's 175 was an ODI record at that time which was broken by Viv Richards (189 not out at Manchester) in a 55-over game against England the following year. Saeed Anwar, the current record holder, bettered Richards with 194 against India in the Independence Cup of 1997 in fewer overs (50).
Kapil's 175 and India's first win over West Indies in West Indies (Berbice, 1983) gave India amazing belief which culminated into numerous One-day triumphs in the mid-'80s. Until Javed Miandad shattered that belief in Sharjah with a last-ball six in April 1986.
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