The Semifinal

India was meeting New Zealand in the Semi’s.

New Zealand was a very formidable side. Imagine, John Wright, Martin Crowe, John Reid, Geoff Howarth, Jeremy Coney, in the batting line up and Richard Hadlee, Lance Cairns, Ewen Chatfield in the bowling line up. I think that was the best NZ combination ever and probably the best combination of any team after the mighty Windies of the 1983 WC.

What I loved most about Channel 9 Cricket coverage is that when you switch on the TV Sets, Richie Benaud (the great) is on screen talking in his trademark Australian English and says “we pick up play in the 2nd over with Roger Binny running in to bowl to John Reid” An excellent allrounder with his nice leg breaks, I doubt if there was ever a more 360 degree Cricketing Achiever than Richie Benaud. He was a player, researcher, writer, critic, author, organiser, adviser, my best (and am sure many millions’) commentator ever and a great student of the game. I miss him. Cricket commentary has never been the same and will never ever be for me. God bless his soul.

As you know in D/N conditions in Australia many times, the combination of Roger Binny and Madan Lal can be quite lethal. Take a look at this unplayable delivery from Binny.

Wow I love that NZ jersey colour.

Kapil was not a big wicket taker in this tournament. However he kept his end very very tight which put immense pressure on the batters. In the entire tournament, Kapil conceded less than 4 runs per over in every match. This was Madan Lal’s evening for sure. After two initial breakthroughs created by Kapil and Binny, Madan Lal ripped through the middle order with a 4 for 37 including the ever so graceful and dangerous Martin Crowe.

Have I ever seen a more stylish right handed batter in Cricket. Someone who has a Top Test score of 299 and an avg of 45 which understates his talent. He shares honours with his brother Jeff Crowe another key NZ great and ofcourse his cousin and actor Russel Crowe who needs no introduction. Martin later turned to coaching and also mentored current New Zealand batsmen, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. In 2014, he predicted and named Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith and Joe Root in the young Fab Four list for test cricket. He was also one of the main brains of initiating the ICC World Test Championship concept. Sadly Martin lost his battle with cancer in 2016. RIP my champion.

Like the Windies, I love the Kiwis but for different reasons. They produced some of the most simple cricketers, no flamboyance, no heroism, not even the Windies swag, but all focus on basics and delivery. Martin Crowe, Richard Hadlee, John Wright, Ian Smith, Lance Cairns, Kane Williamson and there are many.

Ravi Shastri had what I call as the “Silent Killer Performance” in this tournament. Scoring three crucial 50+ scores in the last 3 matches including the Finals and Semis and bowling a tight spell and getting key wickets, cricket lovers used to quip that Shastri was eyeing the Audi which was the prize for the “Champion of Champions” a la Man of the Tournament, and win it didn’t he in style for taking team India to the cup.

As was India’s tradition in this tournament, NZ was bowled out again, for 206.

India stuck to Krish Srikanth and Ravi Shastri as openers for all their matches and one of them always kept the Top order going. Shastri mastered and owned this as it came to be known, as the “Chappathi” shot and he played it so well and so often throughout the tournament.

With Srikanth and Azhar gone, Shastri was going strong and just crossed his 50. However he lobbed one to point off Hadlee and India was in a spot of bother with 105 required in 18 overs. They did have wickets in hand which was their strategy throughout the tournament.

It was upto Kapil and Vengsarkar to see the team through safely. Kapil as always was fearless in this chase. Watch these Kapil shots ☟

And then all Indians had their heart in their mouth for a moment when this happened. Watch this Heart Stopper ☟

Colonel as he was named apparently by Lala Amarnath due to the resemblance of his early batting style to that of Colonel CK Nayudu, Dilip Vengsarkar, when he settles-in is one of the most pleasing offside players I have seen. He is in my personal opinion, till date the best ever Indian batsman at #3. Watch this Flowing Colonel ☟

Both Kapil and Vensarkar get past their 50’s in a 100 run partnership that coasts India into the Finals

Consolation Final

The third place play-off in this tournament was known as the Plate Winners Final and West Indies were awarded a plate for winning the match. Geoff Howarth was nearing the end of his time as New Zealand captain and New Zealand’s upcoming test and ODI tour to West Indies, which commenced later that month, would be his last series for the country.

The Final at the MCG

The MCG had this green turf layered on top and like the icing on a cake, were the white fluffy sea gulls all over the field and that predictable sound of their wings flapping, that always precedes the spectators’ applause, when a batsman hits a shot towards the boundary ropes – all of this was surreal for an Indian Audience in 1985..

In this series, as I said at the beginning of this article, the Channel 9 Telecast was as exciting, if not more, as the match itself. Look at how Richie Benaud slides us into the match with his Signature introduction. Watch This – Richie The Best

Remember that all through this tournament, India had bowled out the opposition including NZ in the Semi Finals. So one more here in the Final and it would be a clean sweep. However winning the Final was more important, not even the winning team Prize money of AUD 32K i.e. Rs 5 lakhs then ! just to put things in perspective.

Pakistan were 17 for none in the 5th over. Mohsin Khan was one of my favorite openers not just he was smart, he was a very stylish batter, super graceful shots on either side of the wicket. Look at how he gets out, stylish even in his dismissal, to an otherwise superb shot I would say. Don’t miss the young Azharuddin taking the catch at backward square leg. Watch This – Mohsin’s Style

Azhar was just back from being the first cricketer ever to score a century in each of his first 3 test matches. Till date for the last 41 years he remains the only cricketer to have done this.

India got on top early in the final with Kapil Dev reducing Pakistan to 4 for 33 before Javed Miandad and Imran Khan began a rescue act after both had been controversially given not out having edged deliveries to the wicketkeeper. What is worth a watch is this unique delivery that Kapil bowls, the Swinging-Yorker, which I have seldom seen other bowlers deliver with his efficacy. Watch this clip on how this beauty is delivered by Kapil and also for the first time I saw a duck walk across the screen when a batsman got out without scoring… hail Channel 9 for such creativity 37 years ago… Watch This – Duck Walk

Another great catch at backward of square, to get rid of Rameez Raja, just inches off the ground and this time it was Krish Srikanth. The fielding and catching standards were at its best. No one in the team can afford to falter with Sunny as Captain. He was a stickler to disciplined cricket be it batting, bowling or fielding or fitness. Watch This – Krish Catchall

Pakistan from 17 for none in 5 overs were now 4 down for 33 in the 12th.

A great sight those days to have Javed Miandad and Imran Khan batting together. Very different styles and approach to batting but strongly compliment each other and can pull their team out of any difficult situation.

Chetan Sharma got included in the final as Binny fell sick hours before the final. It was sad that Binny couldn’t be in the final as he had virtually provided many vital breakthroughs in all matches up until the final. Chetan bounced one that kissed Imran’s gloves and landed into Viswanaths’. However, Raymond Isherwood declared Imran not out, and the pair added 68 runs. Watch This – Review less Days

The game had its own share of fun and excitement when there were no reviews in those days. Human error always adds some spice to this game. I miss this aspect in todays cricket. Imperfections are what makes things human. Somethings are best when they are Analog. For the rest there is Digital!

More of the best of Imran. Watch This – Imran The Immaculate

And as I said, Javed and Imran took the score to 100 for 4 in 33 overs. A good and much needed recovery.

The ball was given to another new find L Siva. L for Luck, there was a breakthrough not from his bowling but from the ever astute little master. Watch This – Sunny Flash

Javed Miandad was silently progressing at the other end and getting closer to his 50 when L Siva produced this beauty. Pakistan, having just lost Saleem Malik, were 131 for 6. Miandad was the only man standing between India and a guaranteed low target. Siva tossed one up, drawing a hypnotised Miandad forward; the ball spun a significant distance; Vishy was ready; his gloves went up, gathered the ball, and whipped off the bails in a flash in one fluent motion that one might have missed had they blinked. Watch This – Swirling Siva

19-year-old leg spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan had been a revelation during the tournament and produced another superb spell in the final. L Siva’s second Test appearance was in the first Test against England at Bombay. His 6 for 64 and 6 for 117 helped India to an eight wicket win. He took another six wickets in the next innings at Delhi. In this World Championship of Cricket in Australia in the same season, he finished as the top wicket-taker and also took most catches in the Tournament. It was a time when spinners, especially leg-spinners, were considered a luxury in one day cricket. It was Gavaskar who insisted on his selection and his insight was that Aussie grounds are huge and when batsmen try to hit spinners out of the ground, more often than not they will fall short. Sounded logical and turned out magical at the end. Unfortunately post this tournament L Siva had a poor run and never made it back into the team. I personally believe he was one of the most penetrative leg spinners in cricket after Shane Warne.

When Gavaskar was named captain, he insisted that Sadanand Viswanath be picked for the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. Following the routs against England and West Indies at home post the 1983 triumph, there were voices against India’s dominance in the shorter version of the sport. In the midst of this, Gavaskar wanted Viswanath, and made sure he had him.

It is difficult to assess a wicketkeepers’ contribution to his side from a scorecard. To add to that, so good was the Indian batting performance in the tournament that Viswanath got to bat only once in the entire campaign, scoring 8. However, he finished the tournament with 9 catches and 3 stumpings from 5 matches. It still remains an Indian Wicket Keeper record for a ODI tournament with 5 or less matches (Nayan Mongia had later equalled it with 10 catches and 2 stumpings). Gavaskar writes in his One Day Wonders, how Vishy was a live wire off the field from the day they arrived in Australia, always keeping the team spirit at its best. He truly carried that spirit on to the field till the last ball of the tournament. Gavaskar writes and I quote “People will talk about the many reasons why we won the B&H cup but one of the main reasons was the presence of Sadanand Vishwanath’. Many years later in 2007 when I used to take my son to a Tennis Coaching academy near CV Raman Nagar in Bangalore, I used to watch someone coaching small kids with cricketing skills. I was less seeing than hearing as the way this coach explained the game was just superb. He was so very articulate and expressive in his Cricketing English language. He used to mention Sunil Gavaskar quite often. I couldn’t figure out who it was. Later I figured out it was Sadanand Vishwanath. No one really recognized him nor I guess knew about 1985 and what part he had played. The world can sometimes be very unfair with some of these sports persons. Young and aspiring cricketers and sportspersons should watch the 1985 footage of Vishy for a Masterclass in Keeping – the Spirit Sky High. A team will then never regret not trying even when they lose.

Gavaskar had been criticised heavily for going into the ODIs with two spinners, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan and Ravi Shastri. Spinners were unfashionable in ODIs, and they were seldom successful in Australia. Gavaskar had persisted with them match after match. He knew that clearing the huge Australian grounds would be very difficult against the two spinners.

What Viswanath did with his deft glove-work was that he instilled that extra bit of hesitation in the batsmen who were willing to use their feet against the spinners. Shastri and Siva had supreme confidence in Vishwanath and knew that the man behind the stumps would not allow them to get away with a single error.

In the second match against England at SCG, Viswanath finished with 3 catches and 2 stumpings. He became the fourth wicketkeeper (after Rodney Marsh, Guy de Alwis, and Kirmani) to effect 5 dismissals in an ODI. The feat has subsequently been equaled by Indians but not surpassed. Watch the Vivacious Vishwanath in action. Watch This – Vishy Flashy.

After the tournament was won by India, the Australian media wrote: This good-looking wicketkeeper may be on his way to becoming India’s best ever. Gavaskar himself reminisced in One Day Wonders: People will talk about many other reasons why we won the World Championship of Cricket in 1985 but one of the main reasons was the presence of Sadanand Viswanath behind the stumps.

Pakistan’s eventual total of 9 for 176 constituted a good recovery. It was the first time, in the tournament, that India had failed to bowl out the opposition. India bagged 49 out of a maximum possible 50 wickets in the tournament.

The Indian Run Chase

As you would have guessed by now, I love Richie Benaud and therefore lets begin with his summary of the Indian Bowling, as we slide into the Indian Innings. Watch This – Richie Slides In

At the end of the 9th over India were 14 without loss. You can’t dare imagine that score line in todays cricket irrespective of the target. Without knowing much about what exactly was the game plan for this chase I can tell you that the ever astute and disciplined Gavaskar would have asked Shastri and Srikanth to occupy the crease and see off the opening bowlers, especially Imran, and build confidence. I can tell you that for someone like Gavaskar winning with 8 wickets in hand is sweeter than winning with say 3 wickets in hand. Therefore in his first 4 overs, Imran had conceded only 2 runs in total.

It was in the 10th over that the scintillating Srikanth started being his true self with shots like these. Watch This – Scintillating Srikanth

At the end of 23 overs India were 71 without loss chasing 177. Look at the Sunny Gavaskar strategy. Watch This – Sunny Strat

Srikanth went on to score a match winning 67 before he fell to Imran but by that time he had clearly put the Indian Train on the Winning track ..

At the other end, Shastri was the silent killer with a clear plan always to play all the 50 overs in each match. Silently Shastri gets to his 50 and refuses to leave till he sees India win the championship. Watch This – Silent Shastri

What a nice sight it is to see Dilip Vengsarkar score the winning runs after his wonderful knock in the Semis to get India past the Kiwis. Watch This – Winning Shot

India won with 177/2 in 47 overs. Throughout the tournament India had proven the importance of keeping wickets in hand and choosing its battles carefully.

Indian openers Ravi Shastri and Krish Srikkanth each had wonderful tournaments and their century opening stand did most of the work for their strong batting line-up. Each were rewarded at the end of the match with Srikanth winning the Player of the Match award and Shastri being named the Player of the Tournament, or as it was known, the Champion of Champions. He was awarded his prize of the now famous Audi 100 motor car, with which Shastri became synonymous, which he immediately drove around the MCG with his entire team sitting either in or on the car. The attendance of 35,296 in the match was the highest in Australia in a match not involving the home side.

This was the only instance of the World Championship of Cricket. The Indian team that won the cup was adjudged by Wisden as ‘The Indian Team of the Century’.

Some Trivia

Watch This – Thank Heaven Not 2022!…

Sunil Gavaskar led the team immaculately well. With his distinct black hat, dropping himself back in the batting order, clinical in his marshalling of resources, it was a masterclass in captaincy right through the tournament. And to top it all, what an act to follow and reputation to safe guard post the 1983 world cup triumph.

Incidentally this tournament and this final was Sunil Gavaskar’s last cricket match as a Captain. He had submitted his resignation to the Board before the B&H tour started. Sunil Gavaskars Acceptance. Watch This – Speech After Action

In his book One Day Wonders, Gavaskar spoke about the circumstances under which he was appointed captain of the Indian cricket team ahead of their historic Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket win. Gavaskar said that he got to know about his appointment as India’s captain through his wife and that he decided upon the team while sitting in a car. The Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket remains one of the most storied wins in the history of Indian cricket. Sure, India had won the World Cup in 1983, but winning the World Championship of Cricket in Australia was what cemented them as a force to reckon with in ODIs. Under Gavaskar, India produced a dominant performance, winning all three league matches before beating New Zealand in the semifinal and later Pakistan in the final to cap off the tournament without tasting a single defeat. Ravi Shastri was also in the mix for Captaincy because he’d had a top season. I was waiting in his room when my wife called, saying “Fish and Chips” had been served in our room. So when I went back, she told me that I had been appointed captain and that Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the secretary of the board was waiting for me in his car. Because the media was waiting in the front gate, I took another route. So I went in and sat in his car and that is where he and I selected the team of the World Championship.”

Legend has it that even before the team left for Australia, Gavaskar had an epiphany that India would win the tournament. It was something he had never done in his life, let alone at a time when India were struggling. Gavaskar does not remember the exact incident but agrees he definitely “had a vision that India were going to win.” “When I sat in that meeting, what I really wanted was some fresh energy, fresh faces. Faces in the dressing room who were not traumatised by the season that we’d had. So in came Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sadanand Viswanath, Chetan Sharma, Manoj Prabhakar. These were the young, fresh guys whom I wanted in the team,” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar revealed he had to make a case for Sivaramakrishnan since inclusion of leg spinners back then was slightly frowned upon.

“I told them that ‘look these are large Australian grounds and for someone to clear the boundaries will take some doing.’ Secondly, I said Australian pitches have a little more bounce. Leg spinners generally have managed to get a lot of wickets because they can turn the ball on Australian surfaces and get that extra bounce which forces mistiming,” Gavaskar said. Gavaskar’s assessment couldn’t be more spot on as Siva claimed 10 wickets from five matches.

“Siva was a brilliant bowler. He was bowling magnificently. The spinners were magical. Of course, there was Kapil getting wickets, but Siva and Ravi were getting us wickets in the middle overs. It was absolutely fantastic,” he said.

As I wrote in my earlier article, for me, the 1983 cricket World Cup winning India team is special as it is, I reckon, for every Indian cricket fan. It is special for Emotional reasons.

When it comes to the 1985 B&H winning India team, the team for me is special and the win was special, for pure surgically precise Cricketing acumen, much less Emotional. And this is one reason I have never been able to compare and contrast the two wins though I have tried in vain for 25 years and then gave up as I think they are two sides of the same rare coin and one should and can only view one at a time thereby masking any trap of comparison. They are very different situations, very different environments and very different approaches BUT…. Absolutely the same outcome… An Indian Triumph!

In the old cricketing tradition of selecting a team of 16 for overseas tours, I would like to conclude this sequel by adding four more Life Lessons to the earlier twelve,

13. A good Strategy is only as good as its Execution, however a good Strategy is the start point for a good Execution – Gavaskar is a Little Master with a Mastermind. His approach was less about belief and bravado but more about planning and perfection. From the very moment he was appointed Captain of this event, he had pretty much worked out every single aspect of this event and was supremely confident of winning the cup if every aspect was executed to plan. And the team did and did it immaculately.
14. Thinking beyond convention is the hall mark of a futuristic Leader who then creates a watershed moment in history. While there are a few in this event, I would pick the selection of a Leg Spinner in L Siva. Spinners and even less so Leg Spinners were just not favoured in ODI’s. Gavaskar’s logic was “horses for courses” vs “conventional wisdom”. Aussie Grounds are large and not the easiest to clear and therefore a Leggie can tease batters and trap them. “Risk” one may say but “Reward” said Gavaskar. L Siva was a runaway success at critical moments of the game and wow, that Javed Miandad stumping in the final off a sharp spinning leg break. Startup thinking in 1985!
15. A team always goes through difficult patches and it is to manage these moments that you need a catalyst in the team to shift the mood. I cannot say if this was by design. I hope I get a chance to ask Sunny Gavaskar. To me it appeared as if Sadanand Vishwanath was brought in to be exactly this Catalyst. There were bad patches when the opposition batters were beginning to dominate in some of the matches and Vishwanath would just appeal for nothing with his arm stretched out and the keepers gloves pointing like a rifle at the square leg umpire. It just lifted the spirits of the other 10 on the field. His keeping was absolutely outstanding. Syed Kirmani was a reputed keeper and a respected cricketer and had done well till then. However Gavaskar preferred agility and aggression for this tournament. Wow, could he have got it more right!
16. A Captain is only as good as the team. This was my 4th Learning in the previous article. I need to flip it this time. There are situations where, The TEAM is only as good as the CAPTAIN. This most definitely was one. I don’t think this tournament could have been won, atleast won this convincingly, with another Captain. At times it is good to be individually creative and entrepreneurial but at times it is good to just follow the Leader. What matters is not how good we are but how good the team fares.