Cricket is something which groups its roots in the emotions of every individual in India. Once in a lifetime, every Indian must think of becoming a cricketer.  As the cricket world cup is heading to our doors, the streets of India are filled with joy and happiness to celebrate the biggest festival of the cricketing world.   In addition to our series “A Countdown to World Cup” today we are sharing the memories of the 80s, when for the first time Indians celebrated the defeat of mighty West Indians as world champions in the final.    World Cup of 83 The Cricket World Cup of 1983 (officially Prudential Cup '83) was the third edition of the World Cricket Championship. It took place from 9 to 25 June 1983 in England and Wales and was won by underdogs India. Eight countries participated in the event. England, India, Pakistan and West Indies qualified for the semi-finals. The preliminary matches were held in two subgroups of four teams, and each country played twice against the others in its subgroup. The top two teams from each subgroup qualified for the semi-finals.    Format Unlike previous Cricket World Cups, the group stage was played in a robin round format. Group A included hosts England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka; Group B included reigning champions West Indies, India, Australia and sole qualifier Zimbabwe. The formats were designed so that all games could be watched live on television, matches were played simultaneously in multiple venues, and for a rain-interrupted game, there was a reserve day.  Although only three matches were required another day.    The matches consisted of 60 innings and were played in traditional white clothes and red balls. They were all played during the day and there were no day/night matches.   Semi-Finals In the first semi-final at Old Trafford on June 22, England won the toss and chose to bat. England's batsmen were unable to play the Indian speedsters and were bowled out for 213, Graeme Fowler was the top scorer for England with 33 from 59 balls, 3 for four and Kapil Dev took 3-35 in eleven overs. Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny also shared two wickets each. In reply, Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil scored half-centuries as India reached the target in 54.4 overs to win by 6 wickets in a classic game. Mohinder Amarnath for his all-round performance was awarded player of the match, adding 46 runs to his previous bowling (2/27 from 12 overs) figures.   The second semi-final between Pakistan and West Indies was played at the Oval on the same day. West Indies won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat and they only managed to score 184 in 60 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Mohsin Khan was the only Pakistani batsman to reach 50, he scored 70 off 176 balls, 1 four. Malcolm Marshall (3/28) and Andy Roberts (2/25) were the top performers with the ball for the Caribbean team. West Indies innings was built on a brilliant show by Man of the Match winner Viv Richards (96-ball 80, 11 fours, 1 six) and Larry Gomes' unbeaten half-century (50 balls). 100 balls, 3 fours) as the defending champions reached the target for the loss of just two wickets.    Finals The final of the 83 World Cup is one of the most spectacular matches in cricket history, India lost the toss and was asked to bat first against the West Indies. Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohinder Amarnath were the only batters who offered any significant resistance as Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding tore through the Indian batsmen. The opposition allowed India to collect only 183 (all out, 54.4 overs). In reply,  Indian bowling took full advantage of the weather and pitch conditions to bowl out West Indies for 140 runs in 52 overs and won the final by 43 runs. It remains the lowest total successfully defended in a World Cup final ever. Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each. Viv Richards was the top scorer for the West Indies with 33 from 28 balls. Amarnath was once again awarded man of the match for his outstanding all-round play.    Statistics   Top run Scorer Player Matches Runs Average Highest David Gower 7 384 76.80 130 V Richards 8 367 73.40 119 G Flower 7 360 72.00 81* Zaheer Abbas 7 313 62.60 103* Kapil Dev  8 303 60.60 175*   Top Wicket Taker Player Matches Wickets Economy Best Roger Binny 8 18 3.81 4/29 Asthana  6 17 4.01 5/32 Madan Lal 8 17 3.43 4/20 Sir Hadlee 6 14 2.76 5/25 Vik Mark 7 13 3.15 5/39