India were 17 for 5 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells in the 1983 World Cup when Kapil Dev walked in and made an unbeaten 175 — the highest individual ODI score at the time and the innings that turned the tournament.
India had upset West Indies in the opener but lost their next two matches; defeat to Zimbabwe would have ended their tournament.
India had already lost to West Indies and Australia and could not afford a slip against Zimbabwe. The pitch was damp, the seamers swung it both ways, and Curran, Rawson and Butchart reduced India to 9 for 4 and then 17 for 5. Kapil, captaining the side, walked in and watched the score crawl to 78 for 7 before he and Syed Kirmani put on 126 for the ninth wicket. Kapil reached his hundred from 100 balls and his 150 from 130; he finished 175 not out from 138 balls with six sixes and 16 fours. India made 266 for 8, defended it by 31 runs and went on to win the World Cup. There is no broadcast footage of the innings — the BBC was on strike that day — making it cricket's most famous lost innings. The reconstructed scorecard and Kapil's own memories are essentially the historical record.
India 9/4 inside 30 minutes
17/5 with Yashpal Sharma out
Kapil-Kirmani 126 for the ninth wicket
Kapil 175 not out from 138 balls
India defend 266 by 31 runs
Toss
India bat first
Inside 30 mins
India 9/4
17/5
Kapil walks in
Innings break
India 266/8; Kapil 175*
Result
India win by 31 runs
“I just kept hitting the ball. We had nothing to lose.”
“There is no recording — only the memories of those who saw it.”
India progressed to the semi-final, beat England, then beat West Indies in the final at Lord's.
The innings that saved India's World Cup and arguably remains the most consequential ODI knock ever played.
Considered the most important ODI innings ever played by an Indian. The lack of TV footage has only added to its mystique.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.