We must have scored 100 runs in seven overs against Zimbabwe in 1983 WC, recalls Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev has claimed that India would have scored a hundred runs in just seven overs in the match against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup. The game is widely remembered for Kapil’s unbeaten innings of 175 runs off just 138 balls that sealed the win for India in the group stages.
Having gotten off to a mediocre start to an inconsistent start to the tournament with two wins and two losses, India took on Zimbabwe in the fifth game of their group stage on June 18, 1983. India had already convincingly beaten the African nation once before in the tournament after bowling them out for a paltry 155. However, it appeared that Zimbabwe were back with a vengeance as they had India in all sorts of trouble with the scoreboard reading 17/5 early on in the game.
But Kapil Dev managed to stitch together partnerships with Roger Binny, Madan Lal, and then Syed Kirmani to guide India to a competitive score of 266/8 at the end of the allotted 60 overs. Since there is no video available from the game due to the BBC strike, Kapil gave an insight into the game.
"I got to the individual score of 175 only after hitting in the last 7 overs. Before that the situation was very tense. We had defeated teams like West Indies and Australia in that tournament but we were struggling against Zimbabwe. Me and Kiri (Syed Kirmani) must have got about 100 runs in the last 7 overs and that helped us notch up a good score," Kapil revealed, reported TOI.
Kapil averaged a very decent 31.05 during his Test career, a number that increased to 36.97 when batting in India. Even though he was consistently good for his country throughout his career, he always seemed to thrive at one particular venue - Chepauk. In the 11 Test matches that he played in Chennai, Kapil scored 708 runs at an astonishing average of 54.46. The numbers are certainly not lost on the 61-year old who admitted that it was a venue that brought out the best in him.
"Be it a first-class game or an ODI or a Test, playing in Chennai always got the best out of me. I always performed my best in Chennai and coming to play there was great. The weather may be relentless with its heat but my performances were always good," he said.
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