FLASHBACK:1983 World Cup win changed the complexion of cricket in India

The legendary Kapil Dev-led India stunned two time World champions West Indies in the finals at the historic Lord's ground in London and won their maiden World Cup title.

India got independence from the Colonial rule over seven decades ago. The independent nation which carried forward a great legacy of rich tradition and heritage was looking to shape its own destiny and stand tall among the other nations of the world. The nation was in search of creating a mark of its own on the world stage in the social, political and economic landscape.

In the sporting arena, India was already hailed as a powerhouse in World hockey after winning six straight Olympic golds from 1928 to 1956 and adding two more later after independence. Dhyan Chand was hailed the maestro of his sport and the Indian team were virtually unbeatable on the hockey turf. We also had some stellar contributions coming in Billiards where Micheal Ferrera and Wilson Jones went onto become world champions.

Independent India had its first Olympic medallist in Khashaba Jadhav who clinched a bronze in wrestling at the 1952 Helsinki Games. World class athletes in Milkha Singh and PT Usha made a mark on the track events at the Asian and Commonwealth Games.

However, the nation was still in search of that one defining sporting moment which could bring joy and among all Indians and be a gluing factor in binding the country as one.

Hosting the 1982 Asian Games was a turning point in Indian sports as we it was the first major global sporting event being hosted by the country. India had their best results in cricket, winning overseas Test series in New Zealand (1967-68) and West Indies (1971).

After five decades of being accorded test status, India was still finding their ground among the giants of the Gentleman's Game. We had produced quite a few cricketing stalwarts in Vijay Hazare, Bishen Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar and  Kapil Dev but a major team success still eluded the nation.

In 1983, dubbed as underdogs, India set sail to England to play the Cricket World Cup. India got their campaign off to the best possible start by upsetting West Indies in their opening encounter at Berbice. The Kapil Dev-led Indian team got a huge philip out of this upset win and started to believe that they could get deep into the showpiece event .

India created ripples in the tournament when they defeated Australia in another group encounter.

They overcame a near exit from the tourney when Kapil Dev played a match rescuing century against Zimbabwe to bail them out of trouble. India's dream run in the tournament continued when they beat England in the semis to march into their first ever World Cup finals. India stunned two time World champions West Indies in the finals at the historic Lord's ground in London and won their maiden World Cup title.

The fairy tale story of shedding the underdogs tag and becoming world beaters became the inflection point in Indian sporting history. Cricket had taken over from hockey as the most popular and viewed sport across the Indian subcontinent.

Cricketers were treated as demigods and cricket became a religion in India. The maiden Cricket World Cup in 1983 still ranks as one of India's finest achievement in the sporting arena and laid the foundation of India becoming a potent force in world cricket.