Thank you, for new memories
Last night was better than the Saturday of June 25, 1983 at Lord’s. The eleven men who prevailed over Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium will be remembered long after the heroic stands are forgotten and newer champions are born for they have sipped of immortality. The grail of cricket is theirs. So it was for the heroes of 1983, too.
And yes, Men in blue, not boys. Gods. Not demigods. A new pick of young men bloodied and tested and found worthy.
In 1983, at Lord’s, the four most fearsome bowlers in the world — the West Indies’ Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner — cut open the heart of India’s batting line-up and pronounced it dead at 183 just short of 55 overs. It was a 60-over game then. It remained for the Indian bowlers, the fastest of whom qualified as medium pace, to dismiss what was regarded then as an invincible batting line-up for just 140 runs in 52 overs and win the match by 43 runs. Many will remember Kapil Dev’s impossibly long run to catch Vivian Richards, that most destructive of batsmen. It was a victory by a team with outside odds of 100 to 1. That made it historic.
Last night’s victory, by a team chosen as favourites, was the highest successful run chase in a World Cup final. No drama could have been stretched tauter. Since 1983, Indian cricket hasn’t had a greater moment than Saturday night’s display of heart from two teams evenly matched, each with a chosen champion capable of spin and six. Imagine, if you can, the pressure of a home side, its greatest hero playing before his home crowd, its captain young, though with a reputation for coolness, leading as a captain should. Imagine the 28 years since 1983. Imagine.
And thank these eleven men.
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