How Gabbar inspired Amarnath to excel in 83 World Cup final

[Desi Cartman]

NEW DELHI: Hero of India's historic World Cup triumph in 1983, Mohinder Amarnath says he drew inspiration from a dialogue of Bollywood blockbuster 'Sholay' to get over the jitters of playing against two-time champions West Indies in the finals. "I remembered the famous dialogue of Sholay that 'Jo dar gaya so mar gaya'. I told myself that it is my day and I have nothing to lose," said Amarnath, who was adjudged man of the match in both the semifinal and the final of the World Cup. 25 years after the historic triumph, Amarnath described the Indian dressing room's atmosphere before the big match as calm and said his underdog team was in high spirits as it had nothing to lose. "We were very relaxed on the final day. Not a single player was panicky. We were playing together for quiet some time hence there was mutual understanding and confidence of winning," said the all-rounder. In the final, played at the Lord's, Amarnath scored 26 runs and took three important wickets for just 12 runs in seven overs as West Indies team collapsed to 140 chasing a 183-run target. Amarnath said he did not fear the "dangerous" trio of pacers Joel Garner, Michel Holding and Andy Roberts and neither was he intimidated by explosive batsman Vivian Richards. Amarnath, who has played 69 Tests and 85 ODIs for India, said the triumph was something out of the world for the Indians and seemed like a dream. "We used to watch world cup finals sitting beyond the boundary line. It was a dream to play a final and hold the trophy. We literally lived that dream on June 25, 1983," Amarnath said. "It has been 25 years since then but I can still feel the thrill as if we have won the cup yesterday only. It was an unexpected win and we are proud of it," he added. Amarnath said despite the odds, the Indians were determined to win as it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be at the top. "We all were determined to win. You have to be numero uno as nobody remembers the runner ups," he said. He rated the Man of the Match award in that game as the biggest achievement of his life. "Definitely, It is my most precious asset. Things were not happening to me before the world cup but that win changed everything. "It was one of the rare opportunities when the whole nation celebrated together. There was no bar of religion, age, language or class. We have given a reason to smile to every Indian and it was the most memorable part of the win," he recalled. Cricket has changed drastically in the last 25 years and Amarnath feels the change has been for the better. "More and more changes are coming up which I find is good untill the traditional game is not suffered." he opined. :hatsoff:

[riya]

I love that dialogue .Quite inspiring really .

[Lurker]

Jimmy Amarnath was easily one of the gutsiest cricketer India has ever produced. His performance in 1983 WC was as good as anyone else from any team really. He would play sheet anchor role at number 3, often helping players like Yashpal Sharma and Sandeep Patil carve the attack while he would hold one end together. Then he would come to bowl and end up with 6-1-20-2. No wonder he was MOM in both semis and finals. Great cricketer! One of the very best we produced.

[Temujin Khaghan]

I heard skipper Gavaskar meddled a lot with Amarnath's career, by taking him out and bring him back into the team on his whims and fancies... is it true? anyone...

[Lurker]

I heard skipper Gavaskar meddled a lot with Amarnath's career' date=' by taking him out and bring him back into the team on his whims and fancies... is it true? anyone...[/quote'] I dont think thats quite true. The only criticism of Gavaskar could possibly be that he might have been a little bit more comfortable with Dileep Vengsarkar who was his fellow team mate in Mumbai and since Amarnath and Vengsarkar were often fighting for a place in middle order, Sunny's preference might have something to do with the fact that Jimmy played only 69 tests as against Vengsarkar 116 Tests. But even that may be debatable since Vengsarkar was himself quite an accomplished batsman. Amarnath's career was more affected by the bad decisions by Indian Selectors. A bad series for Jimmy Amarnath often meant him being dropped for next one. I beleive of all Indian cricketers till date Jimmy Amarnath made the most comebacks. Think of Zaheer Khan and Saurav Ganguly making a comeback in Test cricket after a year or so hiatus. Now multiply that comeback by 4-5 times. Thats how many times Jimmy came back. Of course there is always the issue of Jimmy being made a scapegoat for his Father, Lala Amarnath's, dislike and disdain for BCCI and folks who ran it. Specially the old brigade had not forgotten and Jimmy paid the price. He also didnt help his case by calling Board of Control as "Bunch of Jokers".