#OnThisDay: Kapil Dev's India stun the world at Old Trafford by making their first-ever World Cup final

Given their storied history in the sport and home advantage, England were expected to easily defeat India in the 1983 World Cup semifinal at Old Trafford. Irrespective of the fact that Kapil Dev's side had quietly progressed through the tournament with an air of subtle confidence. As it turned out, a tricky pitch at Old Trafford, possibly laid out to trap India's batters backfired on the home side as they couldn't post a threatening total. 

 

The slow surface with variable bounce also suited India's battery of medium pacers, whose strength lay in varying their pace and bowling accurately rather than bowling at a high pace. Only three English batters got past 30, the top score being Graeme Fowler's 33 as England mustered 213 off their allotted 60 overs. Kapil Dev (3-35) led the wicket-taking charts for India, although his wickets all came at the back end of the innings. Fowler along with Chris Tavare (32) had started strongly for England through their 69-run opening stand but once Roger Binny broke through, England started to falter. 

 

Binny soon removed Fowler while Mohinder Amarnath played the first act of what would be a great day for him. The all-rounder nipped out the huge wicket of David Gower while Yashpal Sharma inflicted a run out to get rid of the dangerous Allan Lamb. These twin strikes firmly put India on top, and they never let go of the advantage. India were electric in the field, as evident from another run out, this time of Ian Gould, as England could never execute the rearguard act. If not for Graham Dilley's cameo of 20 towards the end, the home side may well have fallen short of the 200-run mark. 

 

The target of 214, while modest, was also a test of India's big-game temperament, considering that they were playing their first-ever World Cup knockout game. However, Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth calmed the nerves with a steady 46-run opening stand to weather the initial storm. Unfortunately for India, both fell in relatively quick succession, and the score read 50/2 all of a sudden. It was Amarnath who stepped in once more, grinding out a gritty 46 to keep India afloat, as he stitched a 92-run stand with Yashpal Sharma, who was the more aggressive of the two. The latter also stitched a 63-run stand in which he played second fiddle to the brilliance of Sandeep Patil. 

 

On a pitch where batters from both sides struggled to score fluently, Patil hammered a 32-ball 50 to ensure that the chase was done with more than five overs to spare. England's bowlers tried hard but were never able to exert consistent pressure on the Indian batters. Additionally, Kapil's men ensured that they stitched partnerships throughout, something England severely lacked in their innings. 

 

Brief scores: England 213 all out in 60 overs (Graeme Fowler 33, Chris Tavare 31; Kapil Dev 3-35, Mohinder Amarnath 2-27) lost to India 217/4 in 54.4 overs (Yashpal Sharma 61, Sandeep Patil 51*, Mohinder Amarnath 46) by six wickets.

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