When the 5th wicket fell in the 80s, be it in Tests or One-Day
matches, India never lost hope. The atmosphere in the stadium didn’t descend
into a pall of gloom. Instead, the collective anticipation of the nation was
suffused in pride and joy. Because, one of the finest all-rounders of the game
was yet to wield his mace. Yes, in his hands, the bat turned into one quite
often. Kapil Dev Nikhanj – is arguably, the most talented cricketer India has
produced. He was India’s first (and perhaps, the best) genuine fast bowler. His
smooth run-up and side-on action had such fine rhythm that could leave a
Mercedes engineer wide-eyed in awe. He was no Kohli, who intimidates the
opposition with tattoos and fiery eyes. Kapil stood in the middle with his
toothy-smile, his body-language resembling a lumberjack ready to pulverize the
opposition. His look just said: Are you man enough to take me on? It was under
his marshaling that India tasted victory in the world stage for the first time.
When Kapil lifted the Prudential World Cup on June 25, 1983, the nation shook
away its garb of self-doubt. And adorned a new avatar of trust and belief. That
picture of him, smiling with the cup in the Lord’s balcony, was flashed across
newspapers the next day. It was the day when our country took to his genius,
like moths to a flame.
