In his playing years, Binny was the nicest man around. He still remains one. He only hurt rivals with the red cherry that swung both ways. No wonder he was a huge success in the 1983 World Cup in England, where he took a record 18 wickets, and in the World Series Cricket Championship in Australia two years later, where he picked up 17. Most underrated is his contribution with the bat in many an Indian win. Though he was a successful opener in Ranji Trophy-he and Desai produced an unbroken 451-run opening stand against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, which stood as a record for many years he rarely got a chance to bat up the order, thanks to established names like Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Sandip Patil, Yashpal Sharma, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Kapil Dev. But, as he recalls in this exclusive interview, despite the star batters, most Indian victories in the 1983 World Cup were scripted by all-rounders whose 20s and 30s made the difference. Edited excerpts:
Q/: Let us start with the 1983 World Cup. You took the important wicket of Clive Lloyd in the final. Are the memories still fresh?
It doesn't seem that long ago. No one gave us a chance. Even we were not confident after what happened to us in the previous two World Cups. But as things went on, I put it to the first game, that's where everything changed for us [India beat the West Indies by 34 runs; Binny scored 27 and took three wickets, including that of Viv Richards and Clive Lloyd]. That really kick-started our World Cup.
Q/ Was it the team combination that really made the difference?
That's right. It was the combination of the team. The playing 11. If you look at the matches, we won a lot of them because of contributions from the back half of our batting. Chipping in with 20s and 30s. From the numbers 5, 6, 7 and 8, everybody contributed. If you look back at the scores, that's what really helped us.
この記事は THE WEEK India の October 08, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は THE WEEK India の October 08, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
