Situation was worse since 1983, 6 wickets for 31 runs had fallen, Kapil Dev fell on his face.
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Kapil Dev came to the crease, Donald bowled such a deadly yorker that Kapil Dev fell face down on the pitch in an attempt to save himself. The South African fans present in the entire stadium started laughing loudly; they felt that the Indian team had now surrendered. But perhaps the world had made the mistake of underestimating that lion.
During the 1992 South Africa tour, Kapil Dev played an innings of 129 runs and fell on his face on the first ball.
New Delhi. This is the story of that ‘Haryana Hurricane’, which taught us to recover after falling on African soil and then to roar again. Year 1992, St. George Park Ground, Port Elizabeth. Third test match of the series between India and South Africa. The African fast bowlers were blazing with their pace and the Indian batting was falling apart like a pack of cards. There were only 31 runs on the scoreboard and 6 veteran batsmen had returned to the pavilion.
Then the great Kapil Dev enters the field. The player who had the World Cup crown on his shoulders and who believed in snatching victory from the jaws of lions. Which had proved to be a trouble-shooter for India many times before in similar situations. In the 1983 World Cup, 5 wickets fell for 17 runs against Zimbabwe and here 6 wickets fell for 31 runs. Then happened what Trentbridge had seen. Whatever happened on the first ball of this innings might have woken up Kapil Dev.
The ball that dropped Kapil
Allan Donald was one of the most feared bowlers in the world at that time. As soon as Kapil came to the crease, Donald bowled such a deadly yorker that Kapil Dev fell face down on the pitch in an attempt to save himself. The South African fans present in the entire stadium started laughing loudly; they felt that the Indian team had now surrendered. But perhaps the world had made the mistake of underestimating that lion. That laughter fueled the fire within Kapil. What happened after this is still called ‘Kapil’s counterattack’ in the history of South African cricket.
Kapil’s counterattack
Kapil turned dangerous attacks like Allan Donald, Craig Mathews and Brian McMillan into toys.
The ‘cover drives’ he hit on McMillan’s ball were as beautiful as a painting. He responded to Donald’s pace with his trademark ‘Nataraj Shot’ and even sent the spinners straight out of the crease into the stands. Where even 50 runs seemed difficult for the Indian team, Kapil single-handedly played a stormy inning of 129 runs. His innings not only saved India’s honour, but also ended the fear of the African bowlers.
That 129 runs was not just a score, it was an answer to those who laughed at the fall of a legend. Kapil Dev proved that the real champion is not the one who never falls, but the one who gets up after falling and changes the course of the game.
