World Cup Final Rematch, Dust Storm, Imran Khan: Story Of First-ever International Cricket Match in Kashmir

After the defeat in the final of the 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup, West Indies sought revenge when they toured India in six tests and five ODI series.

It was a historic series for Indian cricket as the first of the five ODIs was scheduled at Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. This was the first-ever international cricket match in Kashmir and was played on the 13th of October 1983. There was a mixture of emotions heading into the game as political tensions dominated the stories ahead of the match.

The visitors, despite losing to India in the final of the 1983 World Cup, came into the match as clear favorites. Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium, known for its natural beauty, gave the players a wonderful experience as they stepped onto the valley turf for the first time.

Surprisingly for both sides, sections of the home fans booed the Indian players as they began their warm-up.

“Being hooted at after a defeat is understandable, but this was incredible. Moreover, there were many in the crowd shouting pro-Pakistan slogans which confounded us, because we were playing the West Indies and not Pakistan” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his book Runs ’n’ Ruins a year later.

Clive Lloyd won the toss and put the hosts to bat first. Gavaskar was the first to fall as he nicked the ball resulting in a brilliant catch by Viv Richards. As Gavaskar started a walk back to the pavilion, fans made their feelings clear by making resounding applause.

Kris Srikkanth tried to hold the innings together with an uncharacteristic 40 off 91 balls. He kept watching the wickets tumble at the other end as India were restricted to 176 in less than 42 overs. Roger Harper was the pick of the bowlers with an impressive figure of 3/34 in 9 overs.

During the innings break, dozens of people invaded the pitch and damaged the wicket, although not seriously enough to halt the game.

The West Indies innings was halted by a dust storm and bad light but that did not stop them from putting on a strong partnership thanks to openers Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. The misery continued for the home side as fans threw bottles, stones, and trash at the Indian players. Dilip Vengsarkar was hit by an apple while fielding at the boundary line.

One of the fans held a poster of Pakistan captain Imran Khan inside the stadium to which Sunil Gavaskar responded with a thumbs-up gesture. The fan waved the poster towards Gavaskar again, this time Gavaskar pointed at the poster, then towards the sky, then to himself, then towards the ground. This gesture of Gavaskar received appreciation from the crowd.

The conditions worsened due to bad light in the 23rd over when the score was 108 for no loss. The match was unable to continue and West Indies won the match by 28 runs (revised target). Desmond Haynes was awarded the Man of the Match award for scoring 58 runs.

One of the fans at the game, Mubarak Ahmad said, “Soon after the match started, spectators threw broken bottles, stones, and trash at the Indian team. It was a free for all.”

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah invited the Indian players for dinner that evening and apologized for the behavior of the fans.

 “I don’t think the Indian players were really upset by the behavior of the crowd. They were stunned and could not understand the crowd’s reaction as they had come to the ground as the World Champions.” Gavaskar said.

“To be fair, it was not the entire crowd, but sections of it. But these sections were the most vociferous and thus it seemed most of the crowd was against us,” he added.

The venue ended up hosting another match, this time between India and Australia in the 1986-87 season. India again ended up on the losing side as the Aussies won by three wickets.

India vs West Indies Lineups

India Playing XI

Sunil Gavaskar

Kris Srikkanth

Dilip Vengsarkar

Yashpal Sharma

Sandeep Patil

Kapil Dev (c)

Kirti Azad

Roger Binny

Madan Lal

Syed Kirmani

Balwinder Sandhu

West Indies Playing XI

Gordon Greenidge

Desmond Haynes

Viv Richards

Larry Gomes

Clive Lloyd (c)

Jeff Dujon

Eldine Baptiste

Roger Harper

Malcolm Marshall

Andy Roberts

Michael Holding

Read More: Top Sports Stadiums in Kashmir