35 Years Ago, Dilip Vengsarkar And Kapil Dev Took The Fight To The English Right In Their Own Backyard
Their efforts helped India put on a brave fight before going down at Lord's.
June 14, 1982 saw one of the most defiant acts by the Indian cricket team.
Reuters
The venue was Lord's and India were trailing by 305 runs in the first innings against England and an innings defeat loomed large.
But two men had other ideas, they were Dilip Vengsarkar and Kapil Dev. Vengsarkar already had the reputation of being a good player overseas and this time he added a more attacking streak to his game.
Reuters
England were left mesmerised with his range of shots as the ball disappeared to different parts of the boundary. Runs flowed swiftly and it was a great exhibition with the willow by the elegant right-hander.
When Vengsarkar fell, the score was 252 out of which the man had made 157. But if the English thought they could wrap things up right away, Kapil had other ideas. He launched into the bowling and fought fire with fire. If Vengsarkar's knock was graceful, Kapil's was sheer brute power. The speed of the ball leaving his bat was quicker than batting an eye-lid. By the time he departed for 89, the danger of an innings defeat was long gone.
Reuters
India folded for 369 and the next day England cruised home by 7 wickets. They won the match but India won a lot of hearts for their defiant stand on the penultimate day. It was a sign of things to come and one new this team was destined for great things.
Well, the people were not wrong, one year later we won the World Cup against all odds and in 1985 were crowned Champion of Champions. But those are stories for later.
