Thirty-odd years ago today, the great Kapil Dev left his indelible mark as one of the finest in the history of sports. The 1983 World Cup winner on February 8 made history by moving past the mark of 431 Test wickets by Sir Richard Hadlee when Sri Lanka toured India in 1994.
In the Ahmedabad Test of the tour, Kapil Dev had Hashan Tillakaratne’s wicket to cross the great New Zealand’s mark.
This event was also a testimony to India’s vast talent in pace and an indomitable spirit of determination and hard work. That scalp summed up Kayo on an entire country with his only wicket being Sri Lanka’s opener.
Read Also:- India National Cricket Team Coaches: Full List 1971-2025
It was a typical Kapil Dev dismissal: The ball had moved very late, moving away from Tillakaratne, the experienced Sri Lankan opener, only to edge straight into the waiting hands of Manjrekar at slips.
Having added just five when he was dismissed, Tillakaratne was not some show-unstealer at Momtela, although It will still give him the match’s very first wicket, granting the Azharuddin-led side a 119 against them, their Asian rivals. Damage was done mostly by Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan, sharing eight wickets in the game besides themselves.
Mohd. Azharuddin scored big, and his century ensured that India had first straight innings for 358 runs. Raju and Rajesh Chauhan shared nine of that achieved eleven against Sri Lankan batsmen at the Gujarat Stadium. Kapil Dev remained wicketless, as India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 17 runs.
Kapil Dev’s journey to the record-breaking 432nd wicket was filled with relentless hard work and passion. The legendary fast-bowler burst into the scene in 1978. In no time, Kapil Dev established himself as a dependable fast bowler which was a rarity in the Indian squad at the time. His ability to swing the ball both ways, coupled with deceptive pace made him a nightmare for even the best batters in that era.
Read Also:- Kapil Dev achieved one of the most iconic feats in Test Cricket
Had Kapil Dev competed in any other period, not when Imran Kham, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were contemporaries, he would have been the undisputed all-round star in world cricket. While Kapil Dev faced stiff competition from his contemporaries, it didn’t stop him from being voted India’s Cricketer of the Century, ahead of legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar
