Sunday 26 July 2015

Kapil Dev


Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev at Equation sports auction.jpg
Kapil Dev in January 89
Personal information
Full name Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj
Born 6 January 1959 (age 56)
Chandigarh, Punjab, India
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right arm fast medium
Role Bowling All-rounder
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 142) 16 October 1978 v Pakistan
Last Test 19 March 1994 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 25) 1 October 1978 v Pakistan
Last ODI 17 October 1994 v West Indies
Domestic team information
Years Team
1975–1992 Haryana
1984–1985 Worcestershire
1981–1983 Northamptonshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 131 225 275 309
Runs scored 5248 3783 11356 5461
Batting average 31.05 23.79 32.91 24.59
100s/50s 8/27 1/14 18/56 2/23
Top score 163 175* 193 175*
Balls bowled 27740 11202 48853 14947
Wickets 434 253 835 335
Bowling average 29.64 27.45 27.09 27.34
5 wickets in innings 23 1 39 2
10 wickets in match 2 n/a 3 n/a
Best bowling 9/83 5/43 9/83 5/43
Catches/stumpings 64/– 71/– 192/– 99/–
Source: Cricinfo, 24 January 2008
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj[1] (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)) (born 6 January 1959), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002,[2] Kapil Dev is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time. He was also India's national cricket coach for 10 months between October 1999 and August 2000.
Kapil was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, and was India's main strike bowler for most of his career. He also developed a fine inswinging yorker during the 1980s, which he used very effectively against tail-enders. As a batsman, he was a natural striker of the ball who could hook and drive effectively. A naturally aggressive player, he often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. Nicknamed The Haryana Hurricane, he represented the Haryana cricket team in domestic cricket.[3] He retired in 1994, holding the world record for the most number of wickets taken in Test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. At the time, he was also India's highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5,000 runs in Tests,[4] making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. On 8 March 2010, Kapil Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame[5]

Kapil Dev was born as Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj to Ram Lal Nikhanj, a building and timber contractor and his wife Raj Kumari in Chandigarh on 6 January 1959. [6] His parents had migrated from Rawalpindi during the Partition of India.[6] Kapil Dev was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1971.

Domestic career

Kapil Dev made an impressive debut for Haryana in November 1975 against Punjab with a 6 wicket haul, restricting Punjab to just 63 runs and helping Haryana to victory. Kapil finished the season with 12 wickets in 3 matches.
In the 1976–77 season opener against Jammu & Kashmir, he had a match haul of 8/36 to win the match for his team. While his contributions for the rest of the season was ordinary, Haryana qualified for the pre quarterfinals. Kapil Dev achieved his then best innings haul of 7/20 in just 9 overs in the second innings to skittle Bengal for 58 runs in under 19 overs. Although Haryana lost to Bombay in the quarter finals, his form made the nation sit up and take notice.
Kapil began his 1977–78 season claiming 8/38 in the first innings against Services. With 3 wickets in the second innings, he took his maiden 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket, a feat he would later achieve twice in Test cricket. With 23 wickets in 4 matches, he was selected for the Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Wills Trophy matches.
For the 1978–79 season, Haryana had a repeat encounter with Bengal in the pre-quarterfinal match after a lackluster bowling season from Kapil Dev (12 wickets from 4 matches). Kapil Dev however scored 2 half-centuries in the group stage matches. In the pre-quarterfinal match, he rose to the occasion by taking a 5-wicket haul in the first innings. Poor batting by Haryana in the second innings meant Bengal could avenge their loss from 2 seasons back by scoring the required 161 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets. Kapil Dev stood out in the Irani Trophy match scoring 62 runs coming in at number 8. He also took 5 catches in the game where Karnataka was defeated by the Rest of India XI. Kapil Dev arrived in the national spotlight with a trademark standout performance in the finals of the Duleep Trophy taking a first innings haul of 7/65 in 24 overs. Kapil was included in the North Zone squad for Deodhar Trophy and Wills Trophy for the first time. He played his first Test match in the season against Pakistan
In the 1979–80 season, Kapil showed his batting talent with a maiden century against Delhi when he scored his career best 193. In the pre-quarterfinal match, where he captained Haryana for the first time against Uttar Pradesh, he took a five wicket haul in the second innings to advance to quarter finals where they lost to Karnataka. With Kapil cementing his place in the Indian national squad, his appearances in domestic matches dwindled.[citation needed]

Haryana:- 1990–91 Ranji champions

In the 1990–91 Ranji season, Haryana rode into the semi-finals on the back of the bowling performance of Chetan Sharma and the batting performance of Amarjit Kaypee. Kapil took centre stage in the semi-final against Bengal, where he led his team to a Mammoth score of 605 runs by scoring 141 as well as taking 5 wickets.
The finals of the 1991 season will be remembered for the number of international cricketers who were part of the match with Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma, Ajay Jadeja and Vijay Yadav turning up for Haryana and Bombay cricket team represented by Sanjay Manjrekar, Vinod Kambli, Sachin Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Chandrakant Pandit, Salil Ankola and Abey Kuruvilla. Deepak Sharma (199), Ajay Jadeja (94) and Chetan Sharma (98) helped Haryana to a score of 522 while Yogendra Bhandari (5 wickets) and Kapil Dev (3 wickets) restricted Bombay to 410 runs in the first innings. A crucial 41 from Kapil and top scorer Banerjee (60) took Haryana to 242 runs, setting Bombay a target of 355 runs. After the initial wickets, Vengsarkar (139) and Tendulkar (96) fought back for the Bombay team. After Tendulkar's dismissal, Haryana took the final 6 wickets for 102 runs and Vengsarkar and Bombay were stranded 3 runs short of the target. Kapil won his maiden and only Ranji Trophy championship.[7][8]

Centuries

Test Centuries

Kapil Dev's Test Centuries :
No. Score 4s 6s Against Venue Date Result
1 126* 11 1  West Indies Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, New Delhi 24 January 1979 Draw
2 116 16 2  England Green Park Stadium, Kanpur 30 January 1982 Draw
3 100* 13 3  West Indies Queens Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 11 March 1983 Draw
4 119 21 0  Australia M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 18 September 1986 Tied
5 163 19 1  Sri Lanka Green Park Stadium, Kanpur 17 December 1986 Draw
6 109 18 0  West Indies M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 11 January 1988 India won by 255 runs
7 110 16 0  England The Oval, London 23 August 1990 Draw
8 129 14 1  South Africa St George's Oval, Port Elizabeth 26 December 1992 South Africa won by 9 wickets

One Day International Centuries

No. Score 4s 6s Against Venue Date Result
1 175* 16 6  Zimbabwe Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells 18 June 1983 India won by 31 runs

List of Centuries by Opponent

No. Team Test ODI Total
1  West Indies 3 0 3
2  England 2 0 2
3  Australia 1 0 1
4  Sri Lanka 1 0 1
5  South Africa 1 0 1
6  Zimbabwe 0 1 1
Total 8 1 9

International career


A graph showing Kapil Dev's test career bowling statistics and how they have varied over time.

Early Years (1978–1982)

Kapil made his Test cricket debut in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 16 October 1978. Although his match figures were unimpressive, the numbers did not convey any measure of Kapil's contribution in the match. With his speed and bounce, he brought glee to the Indian players as the Pakistani batsmen were startled with bouncers that struck their helmets on more than one occasion.[9] Kapil also captured his maiden wicket of Sadiq Mohammad with his trademark outswinger.[10] He showcased his all-rounder talent when he scored India's fastest Test half-century off 33 balls and 2 sixes in each of the innings during the 3rd Test match at National Stadium, Karachi,[11] although India lost the match and the series 2–0. In the ensuing series against a visiting West Indies team, he scored his maiden Test century (126) at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi in just 124 balls[12] and had a steady bowling performance (17 wickets at 33.00). Ominous signs of Kapil's liking for England showed up in the ensuring series, his first outside the sub-continent. Kapil picked up his first 5-wicket haul and all of England's wickets, although it came at a huge cost (48 overs and 146 runs conceded) as England scored a mammoth 633 and won the match comfortably.[13] Kapil finished the series with 16 wickets though his batting haul of 45 runs (Average: 7.5) was unimpressive. His debut in ODI Cricket happened in the earlier tour of Pakistan where his individual performance was ordinary and it stayed the same as both Kapil and India had a poor campaign at the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Kapil Dev established himself as India's premier fast bowler when he took two 5-wicket hauls and ended the home series against Australia with 28 wickets (Average: 22.32) and also 212 runs that included a half-century.[14] Kapil Dev gained fame in the 6-Test home series against Pakistan in the 1979–80 season when he led India to 2 victories against the visitors – once with the bat (69) at Wankhede Stadium, Bombay[15] and the second time with bat and ball (10-wicket haul in match – 4/90 in the first innings and 7/56 in the second innings, 84 in 98 balls with his bat) at Chepauk, Madras (Now Chennai).[16] Kapil rates his all-round performance in this match as his best bowling effort in his career, and his second innings figure of 7/56 was his best to-date.[9] During the series, he also became the youngest Test player to achieve the all-round double of 100 Wickets and 1000 Runs and in 25 matches (although Ian Botham took just 21 matches to achieve the same feat) and finished the series with 32 wickets (Ave: 17.68) and 278 runs that included 2 fifties.[17]

Kapil Dev's career performance graph.
India's tour of Australia in 1980–81 had the looks of the familiar Indian series as India were 1–0 down and were defending a meagre 143 runs and Kapil Dev virtually ruled out with a groin injury. When Australia finished the fourth day at 18/3, Kapil willed himself to play the final day with pain-killing injections and removed the dangerous Australia middle order. Kapil won the match for India with the innings bowling performance of 16.4–4–28–5, a bowling performance that figures in his five best bowling performance.[9] During the Australian tour, he scored his first fifty in ODIs against New Zealand at Brisbane. Somehow India's Test cricket sensation was unable to adjust to ODI cricket and had a career start of 278 runs (Average: 17.38) and 17 wickets after 16 ODI matches.
A dismal New Zealand tour later,[18] Kapil Dev was ready for the 1981–82 home series against England where his five-wicket haul won the first test at Wankhede Stadium, Bombay. Kapil scored 318 runs (Average: 53, 1 century, 1 fifty) and took 22 wickets (2 5-wicket hauls) and walked away with the Man of the Series honours.[19] England saw more of Kapil in the ensuing series at home against the Indian cricket team in the 1982 season when he opened with a 5-wicket haul and 130 runs in a losing cause at Lord's.[20] Kapil Dev finished the 3-match series with 292 runs (Ave: 73, 3 fifties) and 10 Wickets and bagged the Man of the Series again.[21]
Facing Sri Lanka for the first time, Kapil helped himself to a five-wicket haul to kick start the 1982–83 season. In the following tour to Pakistan, Kapil and Mohinder Amarnath were the only bright spots in a series dominated by rival all-rounder Imran Khan (40 wickets and 1 century).[22] Kapil took a 5/102 haul in the second Test at National Stadium, Karachi, 7/220 in the third Test at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad and 8/85 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore while he received little support from other team members. After this disastrous tour, Kapil was made the captain of the Indian cricket team in place of Sunil Gavaskar.
Captain: 1983 World Cup Champions (1982–1984)

1983 Cricket World Cup won by India with Kapil Dev as Captain of the team
Kapil Dev debuted as India's captain in the 1982–83 season against Sri Lanka (before the Pakistan tour) when Gavaskar was rested. His first assignment as regular captain was the tour of West Indies, where the biggest accomplishment was a lone ODI victory. Kapil (72) and Gavaskar (90) led India to a huge score – 282/5 in 47 overs and Kapil's 2 wickets aided India to restrict West Indies for 255 and a victory[23] that Indian cricketers claim gave them the confidence to face the West Indies team in 1983 Cricket World Cup.[24] Overall, Kapil Dev had a good series in West Indies as he scored a century to save the second test match[25] as well as picking up 17 wickets (Average: 24.94).

1983 World Cup Performance

Kapil entered the World Cup with an ordinary individual record – 32 Matches, 608 Runs (Average: 21), 34 wickets. India's solitary victory in the previous two World Cups was against East Africa in 1975. Riding on Yashpal Sharma (89 Runs), Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri (3 wickets each), India inflicted the West Indies' first-ever defeat in the World Cup.[26] Following a victory against Zimbabwe, India lost the next two matches – Australia (despite Kapil Dev's best career figures of 5/43)[27] and West Indies. India now needed victories against Australia and Zimbabwe to advance to semi-finals.
India faced Zimbabwe at Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells on 18 June 1983 under overcast conditions. India won the toss and elected to bat. Disaster struck as the top order started a procession back to the dressing room as Gavaskar (0), Kris Srikkanth (0), Mohinder Amarnath (5) and Sandeep Patil (1) leaving India at a precarious 9/4 that turned to 17/5 when Yashpal Sharma (9) was dismissed. Batting with the lower order batsmen, Kapil Dev stabilised the side with a 60-run partnership with Roger Binny (22 runs) and a 62-run partnership with Madan Lal. When Syed Kirmani walked in at 140/8, Kapil Dev had scored his half-century and went on to score his century off 100 balls. Together with Kirmani (22 runs), Kapil put on an unbeaten 126 runs for the 9th wicket – a world record that stood unbroken for 27 years (10000 days),[28] and finished not out with 175 runs off 138 balls, an innings that included 16 boundaries and 6 sixes. The innings figures in the Top 10 ODI Batting Performances compiled by Wisden in February 2002[29] at No. 4. India won the match by 31 runs.[30] Unfortunately this match was not covered by any channel due to a BBC strike. It's said that after this match, Kapil Dev booked a Mercedes for himself as a memoir.[31] After a win against Australia, India entered the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals India faced the English cricket team. Kapil helped curtail the lower-order after England lost regular wickets to Roger Binny and Mohinder Amarnath. He took 3 wickets as India limited England to 213 and the middle order of Mohinder Amarnath (46 runs), Yashpal Sharma (61), Sandeep Patil (51*) ensured victory[32] and entry into the finals to take on the mighty West Indies cricket team who were looking for a hat-trick of World Cup titles. West Indies restricted India for 183 runs, with only Kris Srikkanth (38 runs) providing some scoring relief. Despite losing Gordon Greenidge, West Indies steadied their innings to 57/2 on the back of quick scoring by Viv Richards and looked comfortable. Richards played one too many aggressive shots when he skied a pull shot from Madan Lal that Kapil caught at deep square leg after running for over 20 yards running backwards. The catch is attributed as the turning point in the 1983 WC Final and is regarded as one of the finest in ODI Cricket. West Indies collapsed from 50/1 to 76/6 and finally were bowled out for 140 with Kapil picking up the wicket of Andy Roberts.[33] Kapil Dev had upset Clive Lloyd's West Indies to win India's maiden World Cup[34] and he led from the front with 303 runs (Average: 60.6), 12 wickets (Average: 20.41) and 7 catches in 8 matches – a truly all-round performance.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)