25 the June 1983. A marriage is about to happen. Expect the air to be busy with rush, movement and chaos. A boy of nine years turns on a transistor and hears something that jolts everyone. West Indies 66 for five!
That was about 8 pm that evening. All the proceedings stopped for an hour. People were glued first to the radio and then they realized that match is being televised and the power is available.
Two hours later when everything was settled it made more sense to proceed with the baraat. Dancing and drinking had an added more valid reason.
Five hours ago, my family left home in Saharanpur to travel to Meerut- the place of the marriage. Imagine World Cup final is live on TV and the family is leaving the home! This was impossible after five years. But not on that day. Only my elder brother knew cricket. And there was a reason for leaving too. How much of a chance did India have? Believe it or not, reaching final was the end for many. Because West Indies would have rolled over a combined world eleven with ridiculous ease and this was a true fact. In the semifinal, Pakistan managed only two boundaries. Yes only two in 360 deliveries - a team which had Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Imran khan.
So we left for Meerut in a crowded train. My brother kept his ear glued to the transistor. Out of noise, he kept on making out what the commentator had to say and narrated to us the mostly dismal news except for little cheers like a six by Patil or Kapil Dev. I remember people were most hurt when they heard that Kapil Dev was out for 16. At that time I did not know that Kapil Dev had blasted 72 in Berbice little over a month earlier- the only ODI West Indies had lost on their own turf. I also did not even know about the 175!
Well the train reached Meerut and we alighted. Indian innings was about to fold. The lower order batsmen were chipping in with their measly contributions in teens to add on to the score which had reached 183 when the torture ended. Years later I came to know that Madan Lal too hit a six in his short innings. That raised my respect for him.
Now while we were reaching the location of marriage, I inquired about India’s chances. My brother (God knows what made him optimistic) said, “If we can get Greenidge and Richards, we can win.” That would sound foolish since Haynes, Lloyd and Gomes and Dujon were alone capable of pulling up to 183. But years later, I realized after looking at the pattern of West Indies victories, why he said that. While all these players were champions in their own right, they could be battled with- especially if you have bowlers like Kapil Dev, Imran Khan or Botham, but Greenidge and Richards rendered you desolate. Such was the level of ruthless, brutal batting they were capable of. You needed to get them away as early as possible.
Now an asking rate of 3 in those days was not as poor as it is today when even the double of that doesn’t scare anyone. For West Indies though, it was indeed nothing. Match was expected to be over in thirty overs. Yes thirty overs! I recall now that was a good assumption because three months ago, West Indies had chased 175 in 26 overs in a test match.
Most of the people were not watching the match. Today this cannot happen. We do watch even if India or our favored team is bowled out for 150. Why do we do that? The reason is that match and the West Indian innings.
After Greenidge’s horrific misjudgment, Richards plundered boundaries at will. Madan Lal and Roger Binny were toothless, spineless and helpless. Everyone turned off the TVs and got busy in the marriage ceremonies.
Then came the shocker from me.
This is how my journey of cricket started. I did not see the rest of the match. I ate and slept shortly. When I woke up at 1 am, India had won but I did not recall watching anything.
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