Even as Team India finds itself locked in a nail-biting battle of wills against Australia, diehard fans of Rohit Sharma & Co are turning to Kabir Khan’s Ranvir Singh-starrer ’83’ for solace.
After all, back in 1983, Kapil’s Devils had put up an eminently beatable score of 183 in their surprise appearance at Lord’s in the ODI Cricket World Cup final against the then cricket superpower West Indies, yet they came home with the prized trophy.
Pan to Ahmedabad 2023, where we just saw the Australians mount an asphyxiating bowling attack on Team India, restricting them to 240 runs.
Forty years ago, as a generation learnt from ’83’, India too had lost the toss, and was asked to bat first by the West Indies, who bowled out their less-fancied rivals for 183, sending Indian fans into a sulking vortex, just like after the first innings of the ongoing Word Cup Final.
The game, however, turned around for the Kapil Dev-led team in the second innings.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath and Sandip Patil were the top scorers for the Indian squad like the trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul.
And the breakthrough wicket taker in 1983 was Roger Binny, who is now the BCCI president, watching the proceedings in Ahmedbad from the VIP enclosure. Roger Binny was essayed by Nishant Dahiya in ’83’.
As the trophy seems to be slipping away from the grip of India, fans are praying that Mohammed Shami can pull off a repeat of his performance against New Zealand.
Can he, or Ravindra Jadeja on home ground, do a Binny?
As Travis Head frustrates the Indian attack, fans are hoping against hope that one more hour with no dew in place may just enable Indian spinners pull off the impossible.
Can India snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, just like Kapil’s Devils did in 1983? If it doesn’t happen, fans can always turn to ’83’ to give themselves something to cheer about.
