This story is from June 25, 2020

From the archives: This is Dr. Narottam Puri, let's cut live to Lord's for the 1983 World Cup final

Doordarshan managed to get the feed for the semi-final and final and Dr Narottam Puri was asked to suit up to present the matches on TV. What happened next will be best left to Dr Puri to describe in his own words.
From the archives: This is Dr. Narottam Puri, let's cut live to Lord's for the 1983 World Cup final
NEW DELHI: Till India reached the semifinals of the tournament, the 1983 cricket World Cup was just another overseas World Cup for Indians back home. Kris Srikkanth had already made plans to fly to the US from the UK for an extended honeymoon. The expectations were realistic. The fans and the cricketing world by and large didn't expect anything special as such from the Indian team, which had had two forgettable previous outings at the World Cup.
The news of Kapil Dev's 175 not out against Zimbabwe in a must-win game reached India.
The skipper kept his team in the hunt by winning the game single-handedly. The news was read, consumed and the normal work routine resumed. Up next were the Aussies. "They will beat us" was the consensus on the streets and during tea-break chats at the roadside 'chaiwallah'. Kapil's Devils though dismissed that notion and the Aussies. India won by 118 runs and were in the semis of the World Cup.
At home, it set a few wheels in motion, most importantly at the Doordarshan office. The BBC feed was sought to telecast India's semi-final against hosts England. In those days, an internal issue at the BBC had forced non-telecast of a few games -- most famously Kapil's 175 not out to beat Zimbabwe. That knock is still only news, with no footage available.
Doordarshan managed to get the feed for the semi-final and final and Dr Narottam Puri was asked to suit up to present the matches on TV.
What happened next will be best left to Dr Puri to describe in his own words.
Here's the account of his experience while presenting the final against the West Indies, as narrated by Dr Puri himself in a chat with Timesofindia.com.
'NOBODY EXPECTED US TO REACH WHERE WE DID'
"Any cricket lover would know that we went to the 1983 World Cup with the background of the previous two World Cups (1975 and 1979), where we had been humiliated. We really didn't have a very good track record, as far as one-day cricket was concerned, at that time. So nobody took us seriously; and I remember Chika (Srikkanth) telling, and it was also written somewhere, that he was actually planning to go to the US much earlier from England.

The thing is that nobody really expected us to reach where we did, so you can't blame the agencies if the players themselves were very (pessimistic to begin with), neither were the followers of the game very serious. They just wanted us to put up a good fight. West Indies were the favorites. They had comprehensively beaten everyone in 1975 and 1979.
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When we reached the semifinals, I think self-belief came. Jimmy (Mohinder Amarnath) and Yashpal (Sharma) really stood out. You got a feeling that - 'chalo semifinal mei pahunch gaye, bahut hai' (it's enough to reach the semifinals). But 'jab semifinal jeet gaye' (when we won the semifinal) and reached the final, we were still resigned to this fate that you can't beat the West Indies. But we had done well against the West Indies in our first group match (won by 34 runs). However, that euphoria kind of evaporated when India got bundled out for 183."
THE SANDWICH BREAK
"I was the anchor from the studio and my job was really to start off the proceedings and then take you over to Lord's for the match and then we would relay the match as it was shown there, and then during the innings break come back on TV and give an overview of what happened and then finally take you back.
One thing I distinctly remember. You know matches in England go on till late (according to Indian time). I hadn't had anything to eat. There used to be the Kanishk Hotel, which is now the Shangri La. It was just walking distance from the Doordarshan office. So I just went to have a sandwich there after India had been bowled out and I had done my bit to introduce the start of the West Indies innings.
I told the producer that I would just nip across to the coffee shop at Kanishk, get a sandwich and come back. Despite (Gordon) Greenidge being bowled by Balwinder Singh Sandhu with an in-swinger, (Vivian) Richards was blasting away. It was at the hotel, as I just ordered my sandwich, that I saw that magnificent catch that Kapil took to get rid of Richards. So sandwich in hand, I rushed back.
CALL FROM GIANI ZAIL SINGH
"True enough that we from no-hopers became the winners. It was a moment of great joy.
I remember getting a call from the President's house. Late Giani Zail Singh was the President of India those days. They said, 'Could we please communicate best wishes to the team?' Those days there were no cell phones, so there was a call from the public relations department at the President's house and he wanted to talk to me. So I said, 'I will certainly convey, sir.'
I have this feeling in my mind, though I'm not very sure, that his PR team might have thought that I was actually in London. What I'm trying to say is that even the President must have been watching the match and must have been so excited and proud that he wanted his wishes conveyed.
I remember when the Prime Minister (Late Indira Gandhi) threw a party at the Hyderabad House for the team to felicitate them, I was one of the lucky ones who was invited. Again, probably because, by quirk of fate, I was the person presenting the match.
'GO NOW, SON, AND EXCEL'
I think the memory that is etched in my mind is that last wicket, when Jimmy Amarnath got (Michael) Holding lbw and (umpire) Dickie Bird raised his finger. It's like a montage which is fixed in my mind because that particular moment onwards, one-day cricket in India changed. That one single upward movement of the finger, as if pointing upwards towards God, had created a signal for God to bestow on the Indians this power of 'Go now, son, and excel'.
That particular match was great for many reasons, although people just talk about Kapil's catch. It was great, but also the catches that Sunny (Gavaskar) took in the slips, Jimmy, Roger Binny and Maddi (Madan Lal) bowling so well and defending a small total on a smallish ground at Lord's. If you've been to Lord's, you will realise it's very difficult to defend. With the slope, the ball just runs away, and to defend that total (183) there.
This was the complete David and Goliath story unfolding before your eyes, and I've been so proud of having been there involved in some way.
THE 1983 CELEBRATION WAS VERY DIFFERENT
"Television wasn't all that big at that time. Although it was pretty big after the 1982 Asian Games, so things had changed, but the kind of celebrations you saw with the (2011 World Cup) victory of MS Dhoni's team, it was nowhere like that (in 1983). Even after the match, not to that extent. I think part of the reason was that it (1983 World Cup) was on foreign shores and not all the matches were being telecast. Part of the reason also was that life was a little different at that time. We were not that flamboyant, and we hadn't done well in one-day cricket to make people really follow the game to the extent that they later started. So multiple factors.
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Cricket was big in the sense that Test matches were big. There won't be a seat available. As a commentator, I started covering Tests from 1972. Anywhere I would go as a commentator, there'll be 20 relatives and 40 friends asking for a pass. You go to Chennai, Bangalore or Bombay; and there was never a seat available."
'NOT A FLUKE'
One-day cricket, I think, changed India in more ways than one. That victory gave you a lot of self-confidence as a nation, beating England in England, beating Australia, beating West Indies. It was not a fluke. We started believing not just as a team but also as a nation. I think after that, one-day cricket took over and then the decline of following Test cricket began, which is a pity. To me, it will always be Test cricket. It's like chess vs rapid chess.
If I were to single out two proudest moments as an Indian following cricket, in which I was involved, I would pick this (1983 World Cup win) and the victory in the 1981 Melbourne Test, when I happened to be again holding the microphone when India won against Australia to level the series, in which Kapil took five for 28 and we bowled Australia out for 80-odd. This was the match in which Sunil Gavaskar threatened to walk off the field.
So that was a very proud moment, and this was, of course, like the icing on the cake within two years.
WHAT Dr. NAROTTAM PURI IS DOING NOW
"I am currently the Advisor, Health Services, to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and also an honorary professor and advisor to the Indian Medical Association. I'm the Chairman of the Fortis Medical Council and a board member of the National Accreditation Board of India.
Very few people know that the Sports Quiz I did with Doordarshan is the longest running quiz show in the history of Indian television. From 1974 to 1992. There were two quiz shows that Doordarshan did, which started almost simultaneously. One was Lakshman Tandon, who did 'Prashan Manch', which was a general quiz, and I started the sports quiz. Whilst 'Prashan Manch' finished off in 5-6 years, mine went on for 18 years. It was conceived, written, produced, and presented by me."
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