New Delhi, Dec 26 Madan Lal, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team and took three crucials wickets in the final, on Saturday showered praise on director Kabir Khan for "doing justice" to each character in '83', and recounted the day when he got to see Kapil Dev's game-changing unbeaten 175 at Tunbridge Wells from the non-striker's end.
Talking about Harrdy Sandhu, the Punjabi actor-singer who plays him in '83', Madan Lal said he was brilliant in the movie.
"The movie is fantastic. Kabir Khan did a brilliant job. Every character in the movie was of equal importance. It was like reliving the moment. Everything shown in it was actually what happened," Madan Lal said.
He told : "Kapil Dev's 175 was also exactly as portrayed. I know it because I was on the non-striker's end when I saw the 'Haryana Hurricane' in action at Tunbridge Wells."
Playing against Zimbabwe, the legendary Indian all-rounder walked in to bat when India was reeling at 17 for 5, with Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth both scoring ducks. Kapil smashed 175 off just 138 balls with six sixes and 16 fours his top score in ODIs as India scored 266/8.
"The innings did not get recorded, but I can assure you that whatever is shown in the movie is exactly as it happened," said the all-rounder-turned-cricket coach and media analyst, who scored 17 runs off 39 balls and scalped three wickets that day.
Madan Lal became the toast of India for his three-wicket haul in the final of the 1983 World Cup against the then mighty West Indies. He, in fact, had a brilliant outing in 1983, as he notched up 17 wickets in eight matches.
But he saved his best for the final, where he accounted for the wickets of Desmond Haynes, Vivian Richards and Larry Gomes. The dismissal of the dangerous Richards proved to be the turning point in India's road to victory.
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