Mohinder Amarnath Reveals That The West Indies Players Could Not Digest Their Loss In The 1983 World Cup Final

No devoted Indian cricket fan will ever forget June 25. On June 25, 1983, India won the World Cup, the biggest reward in cricket, making that day one that would always hold special significance. And that accomplishment turned into a turning point for Indian cricket, advancing it and bringing it to new heights.

Of course, there are many tales and anecdotes about India’s remarkable accomplishments that we have all heard and appreciated over the years, from utter underdogs to world champions.

In the 1983 World Cup final against the West Indies (26 & 3-12) and semi-final against England (46 & 2-27), the famous Mohinder Amarnath was named Man of the Match.

The West Indies Players Were Very Disappointed After The Loss: Mohinder Amarnath

He, in a recent interview with the Times of India, recalled the famous win in the WC final.

On being asked how the mighty West Indies players had reacted after the loss, Amarnath said, “They (the West Indies players) were very disappointed (after the loss vs India in the final). We were fielding and we went straight into our dressing room. They never expected to lose to India, they never thought that we were good enough in Day cricket – that was their mindset. They couldn’t accept the fact that they had lost to us in the final of the World Cup. That too a match played at Lord’s, in front of a full house. All the West Indian fans were 100% confident of a WI win.” 

He further said, “Even before the match began, they felt that the final was a mere formality. We went in with a different mindset. We never planned too many things, we would leave things to individuals – we knew that everyone knew their job well. Sometimes that also helps. The West Indian players were very disappointed. I remember going into their dressing room after we had celebrated the win and the whole West Indian team was in tears – you could see their red eyes, truly.

I was always very friendly with all of them and they were nice to me, even after the final. One could see that they had everything ready in their dressing room to celebrate the World Cup win – there were champagne bottles all ready for them to open. After a while some of them, not all, came to our dressing room and brought some bottles of champagne – they had the good sportsman’s spirit – that the better team won on the day. But one could tell from their faces and expressions that they did not expect that something like this was possible.” 

Had WI won the final they would have won their 3rd consecutive title.

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