My World Cup journey began in 1983, in a none-too-gratifying way. The immigration officer at Heathrow was condescending. “So, you have come to report on the World Cup?” he asked. “India didn’t do too well in 1975 and 1979. I can’t think it will be much better this time.” The officer could barely mask his scoffs.
He was not the only one who thought India were no-hopers. Odds of India winning were a mouthwatering 66-1, but found few takers. Having won only one match in two previous World Cups―that, too, against lowly East Africa―India could hardly claim great expertise at limited overs cricket.
In fact, David Frith, editor of Wisden Cricket Monthly, wrote in his curtain-raiser that he would eat his words if India won. The contempt was widespread. The Indian press corps, numbering only six, was denied accreditation to matches at Lord’s. Not unless your team is in the final, we were told dismissively.
Imran Khan with the World Cup in 1992 | Getty Images
At the start of the tournament, the thought of India entering the final was insane. Cricket’s magic, however, is in its unpredictability. From the brink of being ousted, India clawed back into contention on the back of a superlative 175 not out by Kapil Dev against Zimbabwe.
After India beat England in the semifinal, we landed at Lord’s again for accreditation. The legitimacy of our demand could not be questioned this time.
The stewards at Grace Gates, not having expected India to reach this far, and perhaps miffed more because England had failed to meet the West Indies in the final, were standoffish. “Oh, we’ve got Gandhi coming to Lord’s,” said one to his colleague. His teeth were clenched, an eyebrow raised in surly disbelief.
The Gandhi analogy was because Richard Attenborough’s classic starring Ben Kingsley as the Mahatma had become a global hit. So Kapil Dev and his merry band, from the land of the apostle of peace, took the field on June 25, 1983, against the mighty West Indies, who had won both the earlier World Cups. It looked a gross mismatch, but as in the David and Goliath story, against all prognostication, the giant was felled. India turned the cricket world upside down.
BEYOND THE PLAYING arena, before and after the 1983 final, some developments took place which, in conjunction with the extraordinary win, were to have a lasting impact on the future of the sport.
N.K.P. Salve (minister in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet and BCCI president), along with Jagmohan Dalmiya (BCCI secretary) and I.S. Bindra (treasurer), had asked for some extra tickets, but were snubbed by the MCC. Smarting at the insult, they decided that the World Cup needed to be shifted out of England.
England controlled the sport. It had the guaranteed support of Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies and several associate members of the International Cricket Council. Salve and co knew they needed the support of ICC member countries to break England’s stranglehold. For this, they leaned on the Pakistan Cricket Board. In Nur Khan, retired air marshal and PCB chief, they found a kindred soul. Both the cricket boards decided on a joint bid to bring the World Cup to the subcontinent.
The author with Viv Richards
But just having an alliance was not convincing enough. India-Pakistan political relations were always dicey. Moreover, facilities in both countries were considered second-grade. And, given that cricket was a winter sport in the subcontinent, how could a 60-over match be possibly completed? (Remember, this was before night cricket arrived.)
The Indian and Pakistani boards mooted 50-over matches, but the idea was shot down. The ante needed to be upped. As money was distributed to all member countries, enhanced earnings would be a bargaining chip. And so it turned out to be. The joint bid by India and Pakistan, backed by the hefty title sponsorship by emerging behemoth Reliance, was more than twice what England could offer.
The World Cup has had 50-over matches since then, and it has travelled to all full-member countries of the ICC.
Both India and Pakistan failed to win the 1987 World Cup despite being joint favourites playing in home conditions. Both lost in their semifinals, leaving England and Australia to fight for the Cup in Kolkata. More than 90,000 people turned up to see this match, which a young Australian team under Allan Border won. India’s defeat sadly cost Kapil Dev his captaincy, but the massive support for the matches right through the tournament, particularly the final, suggested that the epicentre of the sport was rapidly moving from England to India.
LIKE INDIA IN 1983 and Australia in 1987, Pakistan’s triumph came against all odds. Struggling in batting and bowling, Imran Khan’s team looked set for a premature exit when they collapsed for 74 against England in a league match. And then divinity smiled on them. Rain intervened, forcing a sharing of points that kept them alive. From there, Pakistan rose like a phoenix to reach the final, where they beat England in a splendid all-round show.
Moment of triumph: Aravinda de Silva after winning the 1996 World Cup final against Australia | Getty Images
India’s campaign had petered out early, but not before the team registered a major victory that left a lasting impact. In the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah, Javed Miandad had hit a last-ball six off Chetan Sharma to seal a dramatic win. The defeat had so scarred the Indians that the team, while playing against Pakistan, tended to always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
In 1992, India and Pakistan met for the first time in a World Cup. It was a tense match, but not a close one. India won convincingly. The bogey of Miandad’s last-ball six was finally shrugged off. Since then, India has never lost to Pakistan in the World Cup.
THE 1996 WORLD CUP hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka highlighted the subcontinent’s growing power in cricket politics. Sri Lanka were least regarded but showed exemplary grit, determination, skill and innovation to win the tournament. That teams like New Zealand and West Indies were willing to give walkovers rather than play in strife-torn Sri Lanka motivated the Lankans tremendously. Under the astute Arjuna Ranatunga, who experimented with both openers as pinch-hitters, the Lankans pulled off impressive wins over India in the semifinal and Australia in the final.
India recorded a stunning win over Pakistan in the quarterfinal. But for a home team that boasted the tournament’s highest run-getter (Sachin Tendulkar) and highest wicket-taker (Anil Kumble), this was inadequate recompense. The semifinal against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens ended with tears for the Indian players, and tear gas for rioters who were shocked at a campaign gone abysmally wrong.
AUSTRALIA WON THE next three World Cups on the trot to establish themselves as one of the greatest teams.
In 1999, India flattered to deceive. Barring the victory over Pakistan in a high-voltage clash, there was not much truly noteworthy.
Tendulkar scoring a century, after flying home for his father’s last rites and then returning to the tournament, gave India’s campaign an emotional twang that was felt all over the cricket world.
Dhoni after winning the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka | R.S. Gopan
Centuries by Ganguly and Dravid, and their 300-plus partnership versus Sri Lanka, showcased the batting prowess of the side but to no avail.
My abiding memory is of South African captain Hansie Cronje taking the field against India wearing a wireless earpiece that connected him to coach Bob Woolmer in the dressing room. This was innovative, but it also tested the limits of fair play. Rumours of match-fixing had been swirling for a while, and this only seemed to boost them. Cronje and Woolmer were first warned, and then barred by the ICC from using earpieces to communicate while the match was on.
In the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, the Indian team played brilliantly to reach the final. But they lost nerve on the big day. The Aussies, led by Ricky Ponting, pulverised the Indians. Ponting himself made a tornado-like century.
India’s best day, again, was versus Pakistan at Centurion. Chasing a stiff target, India got off to a flying start from which the team never looked back. Tendulkar’s ‘upper cut’ for six off Shoaib Akhtar, a stroke that bespoke his genius, also became a metaphor of India’s dominance over Pakistan in the World Cup. The match saw TV audiences peak. Indian and Pakistani fans flew in from all over the world to establish the India-Pakistan rivalry as the biggest in cricket, superseding England vs Australia.
The 2007 World Cup saw both India and Pakistan flop badly. They did not play each other, and were bumped off in the first stage itself. The Pakistani team got embroiled in controversy when coach Woolmer died suddenly. Conspiracy theories abounded, forcing the ICC to bring in Scotland Yard to investigate. After a protracted investigation, it was found that Woolmer, a severe diabetic, had died of a heart attack.
India was in an altogether different turmoil. Having had a bitter fight with captain Sourav Ganguly, chief coach Greg Chappell fell out with several other players. The Indian team was divided, and its insecurities and internecine misgivings played out as it lost to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This was Chappell’s last assignment for India. He resigned after the team returned home.
IN 2011, INDIA won the World Cup again after 28 years, beating Sri Lanka in the final. It was a pulsating tournament, hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India got a major share of the matches, and was also under most pressure.
The disastrous 2007 World Cup had caused a major upheaval in Indian cricket, notably in the captaincy. Mahendra Singh Dhoni suddenly found himself elevated to the top job for the inaugural T20 World Cup. India’s victory in that tournament under Dhoni made him the most compelling figure in international cricket.
By the time the 2011 World Cup began, India under Dhoni was also number one in Test cricket. Dhoni’s unorthodox cricketing skills, off-beat tactics and ice-cool temperament came to the fore as India once again won the World Cup. Dhoni sealed victory in the final at Wankhede with a soaring six. Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan played stellar roles as well. The cynosure of attention, however, was Tendulkar. Playing in his sixth World Cup, he fulfilled his life’s ambition to lift the coveted trophy. There has not been a more mellifluous swansong in cricket history.
In 2015 and 2019, India started as favourites but stumbled in the semifinal. But these tournaments cemented the status of India-Pakistan matches as the game’s biggest blockbuster. Tickets were sold out within minutes after bookings started.
India won both the matches. But, with the title proving elusive, the World Cup campaigns were only partially fulfilling.
The question now: will it be different this time?