40 years of India's 1983 World Cup win: Why Kapil Dev's 175* against Zimbabwe is the single-greatest ODI innings played

The story of the 1983 World Cup triumph is littered with iconic moments and images. Yashpal Sharma starring as India handed the mighty West Indies their first ever World Cup loss, Mohinder Amarnath winning it for India by getting Michael Holding caught in front of the stumps, Kapil Dev hurtling backwards and catching Viv Richards's shot over his shoulder, or the captain receiving the famous trophy from Prince Charles.

No match and no innings captures the imagination better, though, than the truest captain's knock in the history of Indian cricket. The match at the Nevill Ground at Tunbridge Wells has become a matter of legend, as the great Kapil let his bat do the talking and lead from the front, preventing an upset at the hands of the tournament's newest entrants, and ensuring qualification for the knockouts was still on the cards.

An innings of 175 not out from 138 balls is spectacular as is, especially in an era where scoring runs at that pace was a rarity, and especially since it was a record ODI score at the time. But it is the circumstance which makes it special. For most Indians, it doesn't need repeating: Sunil Gavaskar would be dismissed off the second ball of the match, and Kris Srikkanth and Amarnath would follow him back into the pavilion soon after. Matters would only get worse, as Sandeep Patil departed as the fourth wicket, bringing in Kapil with his team's score still in single digits.

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From there, it was about survival first, making sure he didn't get out early and leave a lost cause as nothing more than an eventuality. Although Yashpal was also out soon, Kapil would rebuild assuredly with a 60-run partnership with Roger Binny, and then a 62-run 8th-wicket stand with Madan Lal. His two strike bowlers in the tournament, Dev used them as perfect foils for his innings, needing every contribution he could get.

Once the foundation was laid, Syed Kirmani entered at 140/8, and Kapil saw the opportunity to attack Zimbabwe's inexperienced change bowlers, and the inexperienced captaincy of his opposite number Duncan Fletcher as well. There begins the story of the famous long-handle, as Kapil hit it to every part of the Tunbridge Wells ground.

It took only 72 balls for him to reach his century, on a pitch which had proved too challenging for the top order. Kapil's effort propelled India to 266/8 in their 60 overs, which would have looked impossible with the team reeling at 17/5. Kapil picked off 16 boundaries and 6 sixes across his innings — a century's worth of runs through boundary hits alone, illustrating exactly the mix of tenacity and aggression he came to play with that day.

It's an innings that kept India in the match, and subsequently the tournament. A clinical performance against the Australians put Kapil and his men through to the knockouts, and allowed an entire nation to dream. Beyond just the skill and ability present in his innings, the profound impact that one innings in a small town in England had over cricket in India cannot be measured.