83 !!!

'We fight till end.' 'Beta, jeet ke aana.' 'We here to win.' 'Taste the success once, the tongue wants more.' 'Kya pagal ho gaya hain re hamara captain !' 'Ijjat jeetna abhi baaki hain, kaptaan.' They started as the underdogs. A new captain with a new mindset. 'Cricket accha khel leta hain.' No pass for the Lord's stadium ! Maan Singh felt humiliated. In the three practice matches, the Indian team failed to perform well. 

The unbeaten squad of West Indies had 'Whispering Death', 'Hitman' and the 'Big Bird' of 6 feet 8 inches. 'Cricket dekhne aaya ki horror movie !' Team meeting inside the bus ! 'I don't know what he say; I want to play the game of cricket.' In the first match, the black clouds are gone. Yashpal Sharma was in an aggressive mood. When Vivian Richards came to bat, everyone gave a round of applause for the Caribbean Tiger, but, Roger Binny said, 'You are mine'. The play got called off due to rain. 'See you tomorrow.' 

India has beaten the unbeatable; but, in the newspapers, it was written as, 'Lucky win for the Indians', as an example of high level racism against the Indians. Night ka captain hain Patil; lekin helmet pehen ke batting karne ka. 'Bigad ne de thoda humein.' 'Cricket bahut kuch sikha deti hain.' Cheeka cannot play defensive shots ! India had to suffer a huge crushing defeat against Australia. 

Sunil Gavaskar was dropped due to injury, but, Roger Binny was feeling himself fit to bowl. Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards devastated the Indian bowling attack to put up a good score. Dilip Vengsarkar emerged as a new 'Gavaskar' but got retired hurt by Malcolm Marshall. Mohinder Amarnath continued the aggressive fight against the Caribbean bowlers. Two defeats in two matches in a row, but, still, there is a ray of hope. 'Lehra do, lehra do.' 

The BBC was not broadcasting this 'Do or Die' match ! India was struggling at 9/4, and then came the 'Haryana Hurricane'. Wankhede Sir said, 'Keep the meter running !' Pavilion ki knaach todh diya, oye gaadi ghumaao oye, match dekhna hain.' Historic 175 runs not out, with the mongoose bat to break a world record ! 'Tu sahi mein freedom fighter hain re.' Jab junoon aur josh dil mein ho, tab kyon naa hobe jung ke maidan mein jabardast jalwa, aur kyon naa hobe jeet ka jashan. 

'Jeetega jeetega, India jeetega.' Roger Binny performed as per his potential and Australia had to face a defeat by 118 runs. 'India has reached the semi final'. Indira Gandhi made the game of cricket, a festival, by ordering about the live coverage of the game in 'Doordarshan' TV Channel. 'Ish khel ko ek tyohaar bana do.' Maidan ka jawaab, maidan mein hee dena hain. 'Maybe, this time, India wants to rewrite history'. 

Against England, Yashpal Sharma was on fire. 'Madras ka gussa Manchester pe nikaal raha hain.' India has beaten England in England to reach the Final. The pitch looked green on the final match day on 25th June at Lord's, and Srikkanth decided to counterattack the Caribbean bowlers. 'What happened man, too fast for you ?' All out at 183 ! Jung abhi baaki hain. Fight for every run ! 'Chupa ke !' Balwinder Sandhu got the success with his inswing delivery. Vivian Richards was roaring at the Lord's with his bat. 

'Madanlal ko aur ek over diya gaya.' Kapil Dev took the marvellous running catch to get rid of Vivian Richards. Amarnath took the wicket of dangerous Dujon to come back in the game. 'Howzzat !' The West Indies are out, we have got a new champion, and it is indeed, INDIA. David Frith had to chew up his own article. 'Ush raat koi nahi soya.' 'Cricket' became the best religion and the most popular game of India after the historical victory of the Cricket World Cup in the year of 19"83" !