Kapil Dev is a name that signifies a renaissance in Indian cricket. It was his belligerence that started an era in Indian cricket and on this day that legendary career achieved its final and most desperately pursued milestone. Kapil equalled Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 wickets on this day against Sri Lanka, in Bengaluru.
‘The Test’
The Sri Lankan team had arrived in India for a Test and ODI series. The second Test of the 3-match series in Bengaluru proved to be the call of destiny for Kapil Dev. In the first innings, India declared the innings with 541 runs on the board courtesy of significant knocks from Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Sidhu, and Vinod Kambli. Kapil also chipped in with a 50-plus score to lead India to a formidable total.
In India’s reply, Sri Lankan batters could not get close to the score as they got bowled out for 231 runs. The veteran Kapil Dev picked up 3 wickets and moved closer to the famous milestone. India forced Sri Lanka to follow on but the second innings was no different for the visitors. After some initial resistance, it was all about Indian bowlers who dominated the proceedings and wrapped up the second innings with 215 runs in Sri Lanka’s account.
The last wicket was taken by Kapil Dev when he dismissed Don Anurasiri to register his name into the record books. With this wicket, Kapil reached the ‘431’ milestone and stood toe-to-toe with Sir Richard Hadlee. Later Kapil surpassed this record to become the leading wicket-taker in the history of Test cricket at that time. It was a huge achievement for an Indian because apparently when Kapil was coming through the ranks there were no other fast bowlers in India who could be termed ‘world class.’ The former Indian did the unthinkable and that is what his legacy is all about, challenge the unchallenged.