The Cricket World Cup in 1983 (aka Prudential Cup, 1983) was the third edition of the tournament. It was held on 6th june 1983 in England. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each country played the others in its group twice. The top two teams in each group qualified for the semi-finals.

The matches consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day.

The countries participating were:

Test teams

Australia (Group B)
England (Group A)
India (Group B)
New Zealand (Group A)
Pakistan (Group A)
Sri Lanka (Group A)
West Indies (Group B)
Other teams

Zimbabwe (Group B)
The 1983 World Cup was full of dramatic cricket right from the start. Underdogs India and Zimbabwe scored upset victories over the West Indies and Australia respectively. England, Pakistan, India and tournament favourites West Indies qualified for the semifinals.

In the first semi-final, at Old Trafford on 22 June, England won the toss and batted first, making 213 all out in their allotted overs. Graeme Fowler top scored with 33, and Kapil Dev took 3 for 35 in eleven overs, with Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny also taking two wickets each. In reply, Yashpal Sharma made 61 and Sandeep Patil 51 not out, as India reached their target with more than five overs to spare, winning by 6 wickets. Amarnath picked up the man-of-the-match award for his all round performance, which saw him add 46 runs to his earlier bowling success.

The second semi-final, between Pakistan and the West Indies, was staged at The Oval on the same day. West Indies won the toss and inserted Pakistan, whom they restricted to just 184-8. Mohsin Khan was the only Pakistan batsman to prosper, cementing the innings with 70, while Malcolm Marshall (3-28) and Andy Roberts (2-25) starred with the ball. the West Indies innings was based around a superb innings of 80 from 96 balls by Viv Richards, who took the man-of-the-match award, and an unbeated half-century by Larry Gomes as the defending champions reached their target for the loss of just two wickets.

In the final, India lost the toss and were asked to bat first against a West Indies team that arguably boasted the world’s best bowling attack. Only Amarnath (26 from 108 balls) and Kris Srikkanth (38 from 82 balls) put up any significant resistance as Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding ripped through the line-up, ably supported by Gomes. Surprising resistance by the tail allowed India to compile 183 in 54.4 overs. However, the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the West Indies for 140 in return, winning by 43 runs. Amarnath and Madan Lal (3-31) each took three wickets and one memorable moment was the sight of Kapil Dev running a great distance to take a catch to dismiss Richards, West Indies top scorer with 33. Amarnath was the most economical bowler, conceeding just 12 runs from his seven overs and was once again awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance.

Watch out the memorable moments of World Cup Final in two parts…………

Part 1

Part 2