Sachin Tendulkar Recalls How 1983 World Cup Decided His Cricketing Fortunes

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Monday recalled his early memories about the sport and shared how he started taking it seriously after watching India lift the World Cup in 1983. Today marked the 35th anniversary of India's maiden ICC World Cup victory on June 25, 1983. "My journey into the World of professional and serious cricket began today, 35 years back. Dreams do come true. Keep chasing them. #WorldCup83 #SportPlayingIndia," Tendulkar tweeted.

India had faced the fearsome West Indies team in the final and, asked to bat first, by West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, could manage a mere 183 runs on board with opener Kris Srikkanth top-scoring with 38 runs off 57 balls. His innings was laced with seven boundaries and one hit over the fence. For the West Indies, Andy Roberts returned the best figures with 3/32.

However, the Caribbeans were bundled for 140 runs courtesy of brilliant bowling performances from Mohinder Amarnath (3/12) and Madan Lal (3/31). Amarnath was then adjudged as the man of the match for his spell.

My journey into the World of professional and serious cricket began today, 35 years back. Dreams do come true. Keep chasing them. #WorldCup83 #SportPlayingIndia pic.twitter.com/8cFvV4BWzj

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 25, 2018

Earlier former India cricketers took to social media to mark the special occasion, Kirti Azad tweeted: "You can see me standing behind Srikant next to Roger Binny beaming with joy. What a wonderful moment of a lifetime." Virender Sehwag posted a picture of Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup and said: "This photo will forever remain in the memory of every Indian cricket fan and so will this victory, a victory which changed the face of Indian cricket. 35 years have passed and hope our Indian team repeats this a year from now at the same venue." The 1983 World Cup win was viewed as a turning point for Indian cricket as they climbed to ascendancy in all formats once that barrier was crossed.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Sachin Tendulkar Cricket