In the 1983 Cricket World Cup, India was given a boost in that it would be able to play two matches against each of the three teams in its pool. The only minnows in the World Cup were the Zimbabwe cricket team, a team that India was grouped with. India were also grouped with the West Indies and Australia, creating formidable matchups for a team that had become known for its inability to perform in the World Cup.

India opened up their campaign against the favourites, the West Indies. But it shocked all observers with a 34 run victory thanks to a strong performance from Yashpal Sharma (89 from 120 balls, 9 fours). India totalled up 262 in 60 overs and tumbled the West Indies out for 228, thanks to a quick 3 wickets from Ravi Shastri. A confident team went on to deal out a thrashing against Zimbabwe, chasing down the total of 156 with 23 overs and 5 wickets to spare, helped by a half-century from Sandeep Patil (50 from 54 balls, 7 fours, 1 six). Madan Lal was the destroyer in chief with his three wickets. However, the confidence and morale were short-lived as India was dealt out a 162 run thrashing from Australia 2 days later. India collapsed to 158 attempting to chase Australia's mammoth 320

As India entered the second half of the group

India's next match against Zimbabwe was to become famous for the remainder of history. The favourites, India, were 5-17 by an emerging Zimbabwe bowling lineup. A defeat would have made qualifying for the semifinal impossible, but Kapil Dev's (175 from 138 balls, 16 fours, 6 sixes)* famous innings took India to 266 (he combined with Syed Kirmani (24 from 56 balls, 2 fours) in a 126 run 9th wicket partnership). The Zimbabwe batsmen got starts but were once again hampered by Kapil Devand MadanLal who got 4 wickets between them. India ended up winning by 31 runs. However, the last match against Australia was still a must win. But India made light work, winning by 118 runs thanks to 4-wicket hauls by MadanLal and Roger Binny

India's semi-final match against England contained no drama. India coasting to a 6 wicket victory

In final with west indies tumbled India out for 183 , with Kris Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) top scoring, and were cruising on their way to a memorable victory at 2-57, with Vivian Richards (33 from 28 balls) at the head before suffering a major collapse. They were annihilated by the Indian bowlers and reached 6-76 before providing some sort of resistance. They were all out for 140, India won by 43 runs. The heroes of the day were Mohinder Amarnath (3/12 and 26) and Kris Srikkanth (top scorer with 38).

India dint perform well in this world cup and was ruled out in the pool matches

India141/9 (20 overs)

v Pakistan

141/7 (20 overs) Match tied, India won bowl-out(3–0)

Kingsmead, DurbanUmpires: Billy Doctrove (WI) and Simon Taufel(Aus)Player of the match: Mohammad Asif

Robin Uthappa 50 (39)Mohammad Asif 4/18 (4)

Misbah-ul-Haq 53 (35)Irfan Pathan 2/20 (4)

New Zealand190 all out (20 overs)

v

India180/9 (20 overs)

New Zealand won by 10 runsWanderers Stadium, JohannesburgUmpires: Mark Benson (Eng) and Nigel Llong(Eng)Player of the match: Daniel Vettori (NZ)

India218/4 (20 overs)

v England

200/6 (20 overs) India won by 18 runs

Kingsmead, DurbanUmpires: Billy Doctrove (WI) and Simon Taufel(Aus)Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh (Ind)

Virender Sehwag 68 (42)Chris Tremlett 2/45 (4)

Vikram Solanki 43 (31)Irfan Pathan 3/37 (4)

Yuvraj Singh scored the fastest fifty in an official Twenty20 International from just 12 deliveries faced (previous best was 20 balls byMohammed Ashraful in the same tournament) and also became the fourth cricketer in all official forms of cricket and the first in Twenty20 to hit 6 sixes in an over. Stuart Broad was the bowler.

INDIA v South Africa

116/9 (20 overs) India won by 37 runs

Kingsmead, DurbanUmpires: Billy Doctrove (WI) and Simon Taufel(Aus)Player of the match: Rohit Sharma (Ind)

Rohit Sharma 50 (40)Shaun Pollock 2/17 (4)

Albie Morkel 36 (37)R. P. Singh 4/13 (4)

After three teams finished on equal points New Zealand and India advanced to the semi-finals by having higher net run rates. The hosts, South Africa, were eliminated as a result of this match.

(scorecard)India188/5 (20 overs)v Australia173/7 (20 overs) India won by 15 runsKingsmead, DurbanUmpires: Asad Rauf (PAK), Mark Benson(ENG)Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh (Ind)YuvrajSingh 70 (30)Mitchell Johnson 2/31 (4)Matthew Hayden 62 (47)S Sreesanth 2/12 (4)

Yuvraj Singh (Ind) hit the longest six of the tournament (119 m)

India won the toss and chose to bat on what was considered to be a traditionally batsman-friendly pitch at the Bullring.[7] Umar Gul took the wickets of both Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, leaving India with 157/5 in 20 overs; only Gautam Gambhir (75 from 54 balls) produced a notable innings. A 21-run over from Sreesanth swung the game towards Pakistan. However, Irfan Pathan and JoginderSharmaslowed the scoring dramatically. With Pakistan needing 54 from 24 balls, Misbah-ul-Haq hit 3 sixes off Harbhajan Singh in one over.Sreesanth was also dispatched for 2 sixes but took the wicket of Sohail Tanvir, as Pakistan went into the last over needing 13 runs to win, with only 1 wicket remaining. Joginder Sharma bowled a wide first ball, followed by a dot ball. Misbah followed by taking six off a full-toss; Pakistan needed just 6 runs to win from the last four balls. Misbahattempted to hit the next ball with a paddle-scoop over fine leg, but he only managed to sky the ball, and it was caught at short fine-leg by Sreesanth, leaving Pakistan all out for 152 runs. Irfan Pathan was awarded theMan of the Match for his spell, which included 3 wickets for 16 runs, including that of Man of the Series, Shahid Afridi.

India vs BangladeshIndia played their first match against Bangladesh. The memories of 2007 World Cup were fresh and the Indians were determined to thrash The Tigers. Bangladesh skipper won the toss and chose to field first. Virender Sehwagcleared his intentions by scoring a boundary of the first ball of the World Cup. He played in his usual style and scored 175 runs which was his best ODI score then. Virat Kohli, who had been included in the team in place of Suresh Rainaalso didn’t disappoint and went on to score his maiden World Cup ton. With two centuries from Sehwag and Kohli (100), India scored a mammoth total of 370 runs.

Tamim Iqbal (70) once again led the attack for his side but failed to score a century which was required to meet India’s huge total. The Tigers tried all they could, but managed to score just 283 runs and fell short of the total.

Result: India won by 87 runs

Man of the Match: Virender Sehwag (175 runs)

India vs England

While the match against Bangladesh was a low key affair, India clashed against England in their second match of the World Cup that turned out to be a riveting tie.

Skipper Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Tendulkar, who opened the innings played brilliantly to score his 47th ODI hundred which was also his 5th in World Cup matches. He got good support from Yuvraj Singh (58) and Gautam Gambhir (51). India posed a challenging total of 338 runs. Chasing the huge total, England skipper Andrew Strauss led from the front and scored his best ODI score (158) before being dismissed by Zaheer Khan. As wickets fell at regular intervals, Graeme Swann scored one run off the final ball of the innings and the match was tied.

Result: Tied

Ireland vs IndiaIn yet another low key affair, India were all set to continue their winning streak in the World Cup. Yuvraj Singh went on to take his maiden 5-wicket haul as the team struggled for runs. Skipper William Porterfield and Neil O’brienshared a 113-run-stand for the third wicket that helped the side cross 200. India lost Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir and Kohli for just 100 runs after which, once again Yuvraj Singh came to the team’s rescue and India achieved the target in 46 overs with 5 wickets in hand.

The Netherlands vs IndiaNetherlands skipper Peter Borren won the toss and chose to bat. The skipper had mentioned that the players were looking forward to rectify their errors of the previous matches by putting a good show with the bat. The players could not meet the expectations of the skipper as the team was all out for just 189 runs. The players made a careful start and Team India had to wait for 16 overs to taste first blood. Chasing the paltry total, Indians too, at one stage were struggling with the loss of 4 wickets for 99 runs, but in-form batsman Yuvraj Singh made sure that they won the match comfortably without any further hiccups.

India vs South AfricaIt was another high-voltage clash between two of the best teams of world cricket. India won the toss and decided to bat first. The opening pair of Sehwag and Tendulkar scored plenty of runs off the new ball as both Steyn and Morkel leaked too many runs initially. The pair added 142 runs for the first wicket before Sehwag was bowled by F du Plessis. Tendulkar who went on to score his 99th ODI ton also shared another century partnership with Gambhir (69) and India looked set for a mammoth total once the scorecard read 267/1 at the end of 40 overs. But, as a result of sudden collapse, Team India were all out for 296 runs.South africa won in the 49 th over

India vs West IndiesWinning the toss had become a usual business for Dhoni. India lost Gambhir and Sachin earlier in the innings and thus the disaster management expert, Yuvraj Singh shared a 122-run-partnership with Virat Kohli (59). Yuvraj went on to score his first ton of World Cup 2011 and India managed to score 268 runs at the end of 50 overs. Ravi Rampaul picked up a five wicket haul.

While the top four West Indies batsmen tried their best to make a match of it, it was the humiliating middle order collapse including the wicket of KireonPollard (1) that shifted the tide in India’s favour. Devon Smith (81 runs) was the highest scorer as his team mates let him down and West Indies were bundled for just 188 runs. India had booked a berth for the quarter-finals against the mighty Aussies.

Result: India won by 80 runs

. Haddin and Watson added 40 runs for the first wicket and like always, skipper Ponting who had an ordinary World Cup so far had saved his best for the big match. Punter scored 104 runs from 118 balls, not in his usual brutal way, but he for sure led from the front as the Kangaroos struggled to free their hands. Australia managed to score 260 runs with some late hitting by David Hussey (38 from 26) and it was the best chance for the Men in Blue to move to a step closer as the target was achievable.Sehwag and Tendulkar carefully added 44 runs for the first wicket and even though Punter rotated his bowlers very often but to no avail as the express pace of Lee and Tait also could do no wonders for the Kangaroos. Tendulkar and Gambhir added 50 runs for the second wicket but with some twists and turns, half of the Indian team was back in pavilion for 187 runs as India still needed 74 runs with Yuvraj and Raina at the crease. Yuvraj’s dream run with the bat continued as he scored 57 runs and given the opportunity, Raina too slammed 34 runs from 28 balls ending Australia’s dominance in the World Cup. It was a big moment for Team India and now they were all set to clash against arch-rival Pakistan in a very crucial semi-final fixture.

Though it was a semi-final encounter, yet for most of the cricket fans, this particular match was ‘the one’ they had been waiting for and it meant the world cup for them.

After Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat, Indian openers Sehwag (38 from 32) and Tendulkar got their team to a brisk start as Sehwag hammered five consecutive boundaries off Umar Gul’s second over. Tendulkar struggled to score 85 runs as he was dropped four times by Pakistan players who had a terrible day at the field. While the middle order failed to perform, some useful contributions from Dhoni (25) and Raina (36) helped India manage a score of 260 runs which was not enough keeping in mind the depth of Pakistan batting line up. Wahab Riaz was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers as he scalped 5 wickets for 46 runs in his quota of 10 overs.

Pakistan openers made sure that the team didn’t suffer any early damage as they scored 44 runs before Kamran Akmalwas out on the last ball off the ninth over. Younis Khan disappointed his fans as he took 32 balls to score his 13 runs and never looked comfortable at the crease. With the pressure mounting, Umar Akmal tried to play a cameo (29 from 24 balls) but once he was out, it was a matter of time for the Indian team. The highlight of the match was the Indian bowling attack that clicked as a unit as Zaheer, Nehra, Munaf, Harbhajan and Yuvraj picked up two wickets each.

Result: India won by 29 runs

FINAL-India vs Sri LankaIn the summit clash, Jayawardene won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Tharanga and Dilshan could do nothing special as the two veterans Sangakkara and Jayawardene added 60 runs for the third wicket. As wickets fell at regular intervals, Jayawardene remained unperturbed and scored a brilliant century playing his master strokes all across the Wankhede Stadium. Towards the end, Kulasekara (32) and Perera (22 from 9 balls) made sure that they put up a defendable total against the Indians who had done nothing wrong in important matches of the World Cup so far.

Indian innings witnessed a disastrous start as Sehwag was out off the second ball of the innings. A lot was now depending on Tendulkar who had been in good form right through the World Cup. But Malinga once again stunned the Wankhede crowd as Tendulkar was trapped before the wicket of the first ball of the seventh over. Malinga had got his rhythm and the way he was bowling, some television sets were switched off for some time, prayers had begun as in walked Virat Kohli to help his evergreen partner Gautam Gambhir. Both the batsmen scored runs mostly in singles and later punished the loose deliveries. From 31/2, these two added 83 runs for the third wicket which gave back some hopes to the Indian fans; the crowd at the Wankhede came back to normalcy. Kohli (35) was out in the 22nd over as Sri Lanka still had a chance to make a comeback in the match.

This was a very important stage of the match and something unusual happened. Mahendra Singh Dhoni promoted himself over Yuvraj Singh and little did anybody know about the intentions of the man with the midas touch. Gambhir and Dhoni went on to add 109 runs for the fourth wicket as both of them looked comfortable against Malinga who could add no more wickets to his list. The bowlers soon ran out of fuel, Jayawardene ran out of ideas as Dhoni continued to score runs and finally the moment arrived as he hammered Kulasekara’s full length delivery for a six over long on with all his power! The crowd went berserk at Wankhede as India became the only team to have won the World Cup on home soil.

Result: INDIA WERE THE NEW WORLD CHAMPS defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets

Man of the Match: MS Dhoni (91 runs)