Today, 40 years ago, legendary Indian captain Kapil Dev play one of the most iconic knocks of all-time against Zimbabwe at the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells.
Then 24-year-old Kapil Dev, who was leading the side for the first time in the ODI World Cup, hammer 175 not out from just 138 balls against the African team to not just create a world record at that time but also help India keep alive their dream of winning the World Cup.
That was a must-win match to keep the campaign alive, the Indian team had lost its top five batters for just 17 runs, and there was not much hope left, but Kapil Dev, who came out to bat at No. 6, prove everyone wrong and single-handedly won the match for India.
It was arguably the greatest ever ODI innings play to date because of the circumstances the team was in, but sadly, there is no footage of that game available.
But Do You Know Why?
Because the match was not recorded.
But Why so?
Due to the BBC’s strike?
No, Not Never, There was no BBC strike that day.
The story of the BBC’s strike is a false one that is circulated.
Instead, the truth is that on that day, there were four matches being played.
Two-time defending champions West Indies were up against the Australian team at the Lord’s.
Hosts England were taking on Pakistan at Old Trafford in Manchester, New Zealand was up against the Sri Lankan team at the County Ground in Derby and India’s match was in Tunbridge Wells against Zimbabwe.
In that list of fixtures, India’s game was the least important considering India’s performance in the previous matches.
The India-Zimbabwe match was not recorded because the sole broadcaster, the BBC, didn’t cover three matches in a day.
The first two, West Indies vs Australian and England vs Pakistan, were shown live and the other had a single camera recording for highlights, and the match at Tunbridge Wells was just ignore as not worthy of even a single camera.
And because of that reason, nobody except the ones present at the ground that day is the only audience for that iconic inning.
