On this day in 1983: Kapil Dev’s 175 vs Zimbabwe stunned world cricket

Thirty-eight years ago on June 18, the ‘Haryana Hurricane’ hit Tunbridge Wells, and Zimbabwe’s cricket team took the beating. Skipper Kapil Dev single-handedly guided India to a 31-run win over Zimbabwe. The win played a pivotal role in inspiring the team to create one of the best underdog stories and win the Prudential World Cup.

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India were bleeding at 17/5 when Kapil Dev walked in. The tam’s big guns – Sunil Gavaskar (0), Kris Srikanth (0), Mohinder Amarnath (5), Sandeep Patil (1) – had failed to tackle Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran’s pace. 

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Just when disappointment started to outgrow the Indian side’s optimism, Kapil Dev started counterattacking. He not only steadied the Indian innings but also boosted the total to 266/8. Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 runs included 16 fours and 6 sixes.

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In the second innings, Zimbabwe’s openers added 44 runs for the opening stand. But then Roger Binny struck and all the other batsmen fell like nine pins. Madan Lal picked three and Binny finished with two wickets. 

Kapil Dev was the adjudged man of the match. His innings of 175 runs is the highest score recorded by a person batting below six in an ODI game.