The Terrific Fielder
The 1983 World Cup victory was indeed the high point in Kapil’s career. His amazing unbeaten 175 run knock against Zimbabwe off just 138 balls with 16 fours and 7 sixes (such a knock was really unheard off and unthinkable in those times) kept India’s hopes alive in the tournament.
However his catch to dismiss Viv Richards in the final has found Its deserving place in cricketing folklore. The catch not only accounted for the best batsman in the world at that time, but also decisively shifted the balance of the game in India’s favour and the rest is history.
With just 183 runs to chase to win a record 3rd consecutive World Cup, the mighty West Indian Team looked certain to canter home, and though they lost Gordon Greenidge very early, Desmond Haynes and Viv Richards steadied the ship. But the ever hardworking Madan Lal got Desmond Haynes to break the partnership and then followed the turning point of the match.
Viv Richards had already raced to 33 of just 27 balls with 7 sparkling boundaries and was his usual dominating self. He was looking absolutely ominous, when he was surprised by a short ball from Madan Lal and miscued the hook which he seldom missed. The ball ballooned in the air. The top edge carrying the ball almost to the midwicket boundary. Kapil, who had positioned himself at short mid wicket ran backwards with his eyes glued to the flight of the ball and took the catch over his right shoulder, almost at the midwicket boundary, without a fuss. The Indian fans at Lord’s were in raptures, India had got the big fish and evidently so, the match had turned in India’s favour.
Kapil showed tremendous athleticism, terrific catching skills and remarkable composure to prize out Viv Richards at a time when It really mattered. Catches, running backwards are most challenging to take, and therefore Kapil making an extremely difficult catch look easy speaks volumes about his ability as a fielder. The situation of the match and the wicket involved had surely added extra pressure on Kapil, but he displayed nerves of steel and sealed off the challenge.
I have never seen Kapil drop a catch or misfield. Such has been the quality of Kapil’s fielding. He just went about it in a thoroughly professional way and always looked at ease. He truly was a great fielder and though fielding standards have far improved over the years, catches do go down a bit more these days than earlier times. Probably a look at Kapil’s technique would help.
This blog has been dedicated to Kapil, the great fielder, who took one of the most important catches in Indian cricketing history. When on the field there was no aspect of the game where Kapil did not contribute. Such has been the influence of this remarkable cricketer.
Kudos… Kapil!!