r2i forum

Cricket is the only religion which unites Indians everywhere. We Indians completely forget the caste/creed/religion/status/reservation but always support the 'Team India' who in turn is moulded by only one focus of playing unitedly as a team for a win without the former factors. So far, we had 10 world cups and plenty of small tournaments apart from ICC championship trophy. India has won 2 world cups and this poll is to gauge the member's opinion of which 'World Cup' win will ever be entrenched in our heart that will be unforgettable and the memories will be talked for generations. I am including the '1985 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup' in this poll (Technically it's not part of Worldcup but the format ensures it's close to world cup where 7 countries participated and India won comfortably) along with the 1983 and 2011 world cup. I have excluded the ICC championship trophy as the format is not right one where teams do not play the most matches. Please vote your favorite and most memorable world cup India has even won.

Kapil Devil's 1983 World Cup win over the mighty West Indies where the only cricket empire which ruled for 15 years started to crack and completely wiped out their hegemony. It was an amazing win where India played well in the group matches, semi-final and there was a total team effort. The one player who contributed immensely in that world cup is our great Kapil Dev who hit 175 (Not Out) against Zimbabwe when India was struggling at 17 for 5, then bowled superbly to beat Zimbabwe and the great catch Kapil took when Richards hit the high flyer. These two memorable events are talked even now which contributed immensely for the world cup win even though other members such as Kris Srikanth, Mohinder Amarnath and Kirthi Azad contribution played a significant role.

New 'United India's' 1985 Benson & Hedges World Series Victory over our traditional rivals Pakistan where India won all the matches without losing a single match is certainly a memorable event. Kris Srikanth and Ravi Shastri opened the innings where they played beautifully with powerful high flyer shots and they are the ones who started the trend of hitting the ball within the first 15 overs where other nations followed. Shastri played a vital role with both ball and bat and he was declared 'Champion of Champions' with a gifted 'Audi' car, the contribution of Kapil Dev where he blasted 5 four's of Richard Hadlee's swing in one over in Semi-finals against New Zealand where India won coming back from the losing position is ever-entrenched in our heart where the memories still last even after 26 years!!

Team India's 2011 World cup win where the team peaked at right time where our champions played as a team with solid wins against majority of teams excluding south africa and england where they were even close is certainly a moment to cherish. The contribution of Sachin, Yuvraj, Gambhir, Kohli and Zaheer's are unforgettable but one man who certainly contributed immensely to the world cup victory was Dhoni who played a responsible innings at the final where he walked so confidently ahead of yuvraj and blasted all the bowlers everywhere. Srilanka was having upper-hand for the first 5 and half hours and when Dhoni came, India need 6 an over with 25 overs remaining and still the match was srilanka's as we never know that that dew was set in and it may even turn like a 1996 semi-final, but Dhoni scripted the win with a beautiful six where he took complete charge with his cool attitude, hands-on leadership, hitting the lose balls and defending the right balls with singles and to me this world cup win belongs to Dhoni:emrose:

Let us put the 1983 WC in perspective

- Total number of one day victories by India prior to WC from day one was 11.

- Total number of world cup victories prior to 1983 was 1, against East Africa

- Bookies odds were 66:1, probably same as Bangladesh winning 2011 WC

- No Indian had scored a century before in one dayers

We can say that there was no pressure of expectations, but what they achieved was incredible as opposed to 2011, where they were one of the tournament favorites with bundles of talent and decades of experience.

The 1983 victory was with bits and pieces bowlers, making it all the more special.

It's like asking which one of your eyes is your favorite, left or right eye.

All the 3 of them are classic games and favor them all.

okemos;381520It's like asking which one of your eyes is your favorite, left or right eye.

All the 3 of them are classic games and favor them all.

Arey baba, just pick one, na , like OP requested?

Reminds me of customers in front of me at Indian grocery store checkout, they find all the DVDs equally interesting, and have to consult everyone in the store and then wife on a cell phone with bad network about which movie to rent... while I smile and wait patiently.. because darn it.. next year their kid might be in my kid's class and we might have playdates and birthday parties...

I picked last week's WC win. Was too young when the other two happened... or do I mean I am too old now to remember those :emcrook:

1983 World Cup, it is.

2011 World Cup win was entertaining.

I don't like Power Play, but it is what it is. (In Tamil, "Kandavanum kaattaan madhiri adikkalam. Adhu cricket illai!" - It isn't cricket to just swing wild and hard at the ball.)

As for 2011 becoming memorable, only time will tell.

Will the present generation be able to recall some of the memorable moments (other than the sixer and Tendulkar being carried around the stadium), 28 years from now?

boca2blr;3815521983 World Cup, it is.

2011 World Cup win was entertaining.

I don't like Power Play, but it is what it is. (In Tamil, "Kandavanum kaattaan madhiri adikkalam. Adhu cricket illai!" - It isn't cricket to just swing wild and hard at the ball.)

Hey Boca, i never thought you knew Tamil. Since when??

modus_vivendi;381550Arey baba, just pick one, na , like OP requested?

Reminds me of customers in front of me at Indian grocery store checkout, they find all the DVDs equally interesting, and have to consult everyone in the store and then wife on a cell phone with bad network about which movie to rent... while I smile and wait patiently.. because darn it.. next year their kid might be in my kid's class and we might have playdates and birthday parties...

I picked last week's WC win. Was too young when the other two happened... or do I mean I am too old now to remember those :emcrook:

OK. Done. I favor 2011 world cup.

vsudhu;381519Let us put the 1983 WC in perspective

- Total number of one day victories by India prior to WC from day one was 11.

- Total number of world cup victories prior to 1983 was 1, against East Africa

- Bookies odds were 66:1, probably same as Bangladesh winning 2011 WC

- No Indian had scored a century before in one dayers

We can say that there was no pressure of expectations, but what they achieved was incredible as opposed to 2011, where they were one of the tournament favorites with bundles of talent and decades of experience.

The 1983 victory was with bits and pieces bowlers, making it all the more special.

Agreed. 1983 win was more enjoyable as India was the underdog. When we beat Aus in the league match, British papers screamed "England gets passport to the final". Sandip Patil had other ideas. Batting against the WI pace battery of Roberts, Holding and Garner on Lords pitch is more difficult than facing Slinga/Murali in Wankhade. I remember whole country celebrated like crazy as India broke the monopoly of Windies. In 2011 many expected India to win with its famed batting lineup.

Among the three mentioned for the poll I rate 1983 as the best. Nobody thought India will win including Indians when the tournament started. Kapil's best knock against Zimbawe and then win against Australia turned the table and we started in believing we can do better. Kapil's catch of Viv brought the cup for us.