Vaibhav Arora
Twenty-five years ago, the Indian cricket team achieved one of their most famous wins, a win that made them firm world champions and proved to everyone that the 1983 World Cup final victory over the mighty West Indies was not just a fluke.
The tournament was the Benson & Hedges World Championship of cricket played from 17th February to 10th March, 1985 in Australia to mark the 150 years of White settlement in Victoria. The tourney had special importance as it was the only One-Day International tournament other than the quadrennial World Cup in which all the Test playing nations participated.
Although India went into the competition with the crown of current world champions, experts did not give them much of a chance considering the thrashing that they had received at the hands of the visiting England team just a few months ago.
India’s first match of the tournament saw them take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a day-nighter in front of a packed crowd at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Roger Binny’s 4 wickets saw Pakistan team folding up for 183 and Mohammad Azharuddin’s unbeaten 93 ensured that India romped home with more than 4 overs and 6 wickets to spare.
England, who were next in line considered themselves as favourites and even went to the extent of saying that their spin attack was better than their sub-continental rivals. However, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Ravi Shastri went on to set the record straight with three wickets a piece and helped their team to a crushing 86-run win.
Australia too received an 8-wicket thrashing, which meant that the Indians qualified for the semi-final where they were pitted against New Zealand. After being put in to bat, the Kiwis never looked like trying to push the scoring rate and were eventually shot out for 206 and thus became the fourth successive side to be bowled out by the Indians in the tournament. However, the chase did not start all that well either as the scorecard read a dismal 46/1 after 20 overs. Kapil Dev and Dilip Vengsarkar, however, guided India out of the woods and saw the team through to the grand finale with almost 7 overs to spare.
Pakistan beat the mighty West Indies in a low scoring second semi-final to set up the much anticipated summit clash.
Put into bat first, Pakistan were never in the game once the opening bowlers had reduced them to 33 for four in twelve overs. Chasing 177 for a win, Kris Srikkanth and Shastri put up a century opening partnership and Azharuddin did the rest with a quick fire 25.
The special India-Pakistan encounter did generate the usual thrill and excitement, but only in the stands, as the story on the ground was one-sided, to say the least. Playing with sky-high confidence from their thumping performance so far in the tournament, the Indians displayed thorough professionalism to beat the neighbours by eight wickets and were crowned champs again.
Ravi Shastri was named the Champion of Champions (player of the tournament) and given a brand new Audi. As Shastri drove around the ground in his latest possession with rest of the Indian team members inside and some on top of the car, the crowd stood and applauded who had become their firm favourites, World Champions India.
Winning the tournament also gave India a much needed belief and self confidence, which then transpired into their monumental win just a few days later at Sharjah, where despite being scuttled out for a paltry 125, they fought back to wrap up the Pakistani side for just 87, which to this date remains their lowest ODI total against the Indians.
