Bollywood film 1983 Cricket World Cup win to be filmed in Tunbridge Wells in Kent

TUNBRIDGE WELLS (Kent) May 17: Parts of the Bollywood film ’83’, featuring India’s 1983 Cricket World Cup win, will be filmed at the Nevill Cricket Ground in Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The film will consist of actors for the main roles but the cricketing action will be played by body doubles.

Kapil Dev, considered one of the game’s greatest ever all-rounders, will be played by Ranveer Singh, who is one of the most famous stars in Hindi cinema.

The 70-day UK shoot begins this month, with the film also being shot at Dulwich College, The Oval and Glasgow, reports MCC Magazine. The film is Directed by Kabir Khan and Produced by Phantom Films, Vishnu Vardhan Induri of Vibri Media, Reliance Entertainment and Kabir Khan Films.

Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells

The Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells was used as one of the grounds for the 1983 Cricket World Cup, hosting one group stage match between India and Zimbabwe on 18 June 1983.

India’s Kapil Dev scored 175 not out after the Indian side was initially reduced to 9/4. India won by 31 runs and qualified for the semi-finals, avoiding a play-off against Australia. India went on to win the tournament – their first World Cup title.

Kapil Dev’s partnership of 126 runs with Syed Kirmani set a world record for the largest ninth wicket stand in ODI cricket. This match led to the Nevill Ground being held in high regard by Indian cricket fans with there being a view that the match inspired a change in the way cricket was played in India.

Leading Indian players such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have spoken about how India winning the tournament inspired them to dream of playing for their country.

There was no official television footage of the match as BBC cameramen were on strike on the day of the match, the Nevill Ground being ruled as too small and India and Zimbabwe being deemed too “irrelevant” for a camera crew to be sent to the match.

Despite this there were reports of an Indian spectator who filmed unofficial coverage of the match with a camcorder. The tape was purchased by Dev after the match for an unknown amount, although it has been claimed that this is an urban legend and that there was no proof of this occurring.

In 2008, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the game, Dev returned to the Nevill Ground to film a news segment. Afterwards he was welcomed by representatives of Kent County Cricket Club and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Film Launch

The 83 film launch was held in Mumbai last year. Present at the event were the world cup champions Kapil Dev, Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, S S Madanlal, Sandeep Patil, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Dilip Vengsarkar, P.R. Man Singh (Manager) along with actor Ranveer Singh and the makers of the film which included Kabir Khan, Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena of Phantom films.

The entire cricket team went on to share their experiences with each other and were caught in emotional yet funny instances.

Kapil Dev from an ordinary individual to hero

Kapil Dev entered the World Cup with an ordinary individual record – 32 Matches, 608 Runs (Average: 21), 34 wickets. India’s solitary victory in the previous two World Cups was against East Africa in 1975.

Riding on Yashpal Sharma (89 Runs), Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri (3 wickets each), India inflicted the West Indies’ first-ever defeat in the World Cup. Following a victory against Zimbabwe, India lost the next two matches – Australia (despite Kapil Dev’s best career figures of 5/43) and West Indies.

India now needed victories against Australia and Zimbabwe to advance to the semifinals.

India faced Zimbabwe at Nevill Ground, Royal Tunbridge Wells on 18 June 1983. After falling behind, Dev, batting with the lower order batsmen, stabilised the side with help from Roger Binny (22 runs) and Madan Lal. Dev scored his century off 100 balls.

Together with Kirmani (22 runs), Dev put on an unbeaten 126 runs for the 9th wicket – a world record that stood unbroken for 27 years (10,000 days), and finished not out with 175 runs off 138 balls, an innings that included 16 boundaries and 6 sixes.

The innings figures in the Top 10 ODI Batting Performances at No. 4. India won the match by 31 runs. It’s said that after this match, Kapil Dev booked a Mercedes for himself as a reward.[29]

In the semifinals India faced the English cricket team. Kapil Dev helped curtail the lower order after England lost regular wickets to Binny and Amarnath.

He took 3 wickets as India limited England to 213 and the middle order of Amarnath (46 runs), Yashpal Sharma (61) and Sandeep Patil (51*) ensured victory and entry into the finals to take on the West Indies cricket team who were looking for a hat-trick of World Cup titles.

West Indies restricted India for 183 runs, with only Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 runs) providing some scoring relief. Despite losing Gordon Greenidge, West Indies steadied their innings to 57/2 on the back of quick scoring by Viv Richards.

Richards played one too many aggressive shots when he skied a pull shot from Madan Lal that Dev caught at deep square leg after running backwards for over 20 yards. The catch is attributed as the turning point in the 1983 WC Final and is regarded as one of the finest in ODI Cricket.

West Indies collapsed from 50/1 to 76/6 and finally were bowled out for 140 with Dev picking up the wicket of Andy Roberts.

The win was India’s maiden World Cup and he led with 303 runs (Average: 60.6), 12 wickets (Average: 20.41) and 7 catches in 8 matches.