Today is the day when India underdog at that time shocked world champions West Indies, the world, and perhaps even themselves with their first-ever win against the Caribbean side in ODIs. Any cricket fan to pick their choice of India’s greatest one day international (ODI) performance, and the answers will come thick and fast. And will vary. Many will point to the 1983 World Cup final, some younger ones would go for the 2011 World Cup victory, others will point out to the clinical demolition of the competition in the 1985 WCC, and a few will go for that amazing day when India defended 126 against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1985. But perhaps the biggest win of them all came on this very date of the month almost 40 years ago. The match was played at Berbice. India’s opponents were the mighty West Indies under Clive Lloyd – a team that was not just the holder of the World Cup but was indisputably the best ODI team not just at that time but perhaps of all time. India, on the other hand, had a very jittery ODI record – it had won only one match in the World Cup and while it had victories against England and Sri Lanka at home, the team was considered perhaps one of the worst among the Test playing nations, being above only Sri Lanka who had just joined the Test cricket fold. The West Indies who had never lost a match in the tournament, would never win a World Cup again. India who had never beaten a major side, would win two of them. No one could have seen it coming on the morning of March 29, 1983. But by the evening, as India’s players celebrated and Kapil Dev collected his man of the match award for a superb all round performance, the balance of one day cricket showed the first signs of shifting gently. Which is why for all the titles and series that India has won in the shorter version of the game, that match at Berbice remains special. It showed the world that the West Indians could lose. And more importantly, that India could win!
