Visualize this scenario. This is the third and final test match between India and Australia. Its 11th February 1981. The Venue is the very famous MCG, Melbourne.
 
Australia is already 1-0 leading in the series. If they win this match they win the series. The Score Card is as follows

India ? 1st Innings ? 237 all out
Australia ? 1st innings ? 419 all out
India ? 2nd innings ? 324 all out

Now Australia needs just 143 runs to win in more than 100 overs with atleast a one and half day of play left.

This should be very easy as the asking rate is just about 1.4 runs an over. Even after commendable performance, India is not in a winning position. Kapil Dev had thigh injuries due to which he could bowl 19 overs in the first innings and didn?t particulary have a good time with the bat. He has already taken 4 injections in the thigh and has been adviced rest. But then this is no ordinary sportsman, he is Kapil Dev. Out of no where he bowls 16.4 overs and takes 5 wickets for 28 runs. 4 of them being clean bowled. Result ? Australia - 83 all out. India wins the match comfortably by 59 runs beating Australia in the home ground and managing to save grace and not loose the series. This is only one of Kapil Dev?s superb performances. There are so many.

His 175 not out verus minnows Zimbabwe in 1983 at the turnbridge wells when India were at danger of 17 runs for loss of 5 wickets. Or his all round performance on 22nd march 1985 against Pakistan in Sharjah when India were bowled for 126 (with a knock of 30 from Kapil Dev) and Pakistan were bowled for a humiliating 87 with Kapil dev picking up 3 wickets for 17 runs in just 6.5 overs. Or how about Kapil Dev hitting Eddie Hemmings for 4 sixes of consecutive balls to avoid a follow on against England in 1990 despite the fact that India had only 1 wicket remaining.

These are just a few of the many innings that he played. The most commendable, saluting and heroic thing about Kapil Dev is that he always played for the country first. He played 131 tests for India till he retired. He would have played 132 tests had he not been suspended for one test match against England in 1984/1985 season for a ?Bad Shot?. I am writing this because during his tenure as a player he never missed a single test match for India due to injury or any other reasons. Had the selectors gave him the opportunity to play that test match, he would have been the only player in the world to play 132 test matches without being dropped. That?s Kapil Dev for you.

This is the Same fighter who used to cycle after school for coaching in Chandigarh in the scorching heat so that he could play for India. This is the Same Kapil Dev who was determined to break an age old tradition that India will never produce a fast bowler only because when he came to Bombay for advanced coaching, he used to get just 2 chappatis for lunch. When he complained that this is not the diet for an upcoming fast bowler, the coach laughed and said that India has never produced any fast bowler and He should stop dreaming of being one.
 
This is the same Kapil Dev who took a record of 434 Test wickets (a record that stood for nearly 6 years) and 5248 test runs. He is also the only cricketer in the world who has the distinction of scoring over 5000 runs and taking over 400 wickets in Test matches. He is also the only cricketer in the world to take an unique double of over 3000 runs and over 250 wickets in One Day cricket. It will be a long long time till someone even comes close to this record. This has been achieved by a cricketer who has spend most part of his career playing in pitches which don?t support any fast bowler even today.

He retired from cricket at a perfect time when his performance was slowly diminishing and he started getting lots of injuries. He had a brief stint as the National Coach and as a bowling consultant for the Indian team. A dark phase came in his career when he was accused of bribing Manoj Prabhakar for under performing in a match which even bought the Kapil to tears in a TV interview and also made him feel so angry that he threatened that he will never be associated with cricket in his life. (Thank god that this was just something he spoke in Anger, and believe me anyone in his position would have done the same thing).

The Dark Period ended when he was proved innocent and he also won the Coveted Wisdon ? Indian Cricketer of the century (1900-1999) award in UK. Beating such stalwarts like his idol Gundappa Vishwanath and close friend Sunil Gavaskar. I do not need to write anything more as I can go on and on and on and I can write an entire book but there is a space limitation in Mouthshut.

Today is the also the most appropriate day to write this review. Today is Kapil Dev?s 46th Birthday.
Happy Birthday Paaji.

PS ? Did you know that I am the biggest fan of Kapil Dev. How? When Kapil Dev broke the world record for most number of wickets in 1994 against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, the entire school congratulated ME as if I had broken the record.

?There can only be 1 Kapil Dev.? - Ravi Shastri in a TV Interview on Zee TV in 1997.

Career Statistics

TESTS
(career)
Batting & Fielding
Matches - 131
Innings - 184
Not Out - 15
Runs - 5248
Highest Score - 163
Average - 31.05
100 - 8
50 - 27
Catches - 64
Stumpings- 0

Bowling

Overs - 4623.2
Maidens - 1060
Runs - 12867
Wickets - 434
Best Bowling in an Innings - 9/83
5 wickets in an Innings - 23
10 wickets in a match - 2
Strike Rate - 63.9
Economy Rate - 2.78


ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS

Batting & Fielding

Matches - 225
Innings - 198
Not Out - 39
Runs - 3783
Highest Score - 175 not out
Average - 23.79
100 - 1
50 - 14
Catches -71
Stumpings- 0

Bowling
Overs - 1867
Maidens - 235
Runs - 6945
Wickets - 253
Best Bowling in an Innings - 5/43
4 wickets in an Innings - 3
5 wickets in an Innings - 1
Strike Rate - 44.2
Economy Rate - 3.71

Who is your favorite sports player in this field?

Kapil Dev