Kapil Dev: Timeline

Kapil Dev: Timeline
India's greatest allrounder Kapil Dev was born on this day. He celebrates his 50th birthday today.

Kapil remains the only cricketer to score 4000 runs and take 400 wickets in Test cricket. He led India to a famous World Cup title in 1983.

Here is a timeline of his glorious career:-
1959:
6 January : born to Ram Lal Nikhanj and Raj Kumari Lajwanti in Chandigarh. Kapil was sixth of seven siblings.

1971: Kapil joined Desh Prem Azad.

1975:
15 November: Kapil made his Ranji debut – for Haryana v Punjab at Rohtak. Batting at number 11, Kapil scored an unbeaten 26, before returning 6-39 and 2-78. Haryana won by an innings and 101 runs.

1977:
2 December: Kapil took his maiden 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket (v Services at Rohtak). With 23 wickets in 4 matches in Ranji Trophy, he was selected for the Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Wills Trophy matches.

1978:
1 October: Kapil made his ODI debut – against Pakistan at Quetta.

16 October: Kapil made his Test debut - against Pakistan at Faisalabad. He did not make the most auspicious start – 1 for 96 and eight runs in the match.

15 November: Kapil scored his maiden fifty in Test cricket – v Pakistan at Karachi- off just 33 balls- then the fastest for India.

1979:
27 January: Kapil scored his maiden century in Test cricket – an unbeaten 126 against West Indies at Delhi. He reached the three-figure mark in style by hitting Norbert Phillip for a six.

13 July: Kapil took his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket – against England at Birmingham.

1980: Kapil married Romi Bhatia.

3 February: Kapil completed the allround double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in his 25th Test. At 21 years 28 days he became the youngest to do so.

1981:
11 February: Kapil played a major role in India’s sensational win over Australia. Defending a meager 143 runs with Kapil virtually ruled out with a groin injury. When Australia finished the fourth day at 18/3, Kapil willed himself to play the final day with pain-killing injections and removed the dangerous Australia middle order. Kapil won the match for India with the innings bowling performance of 16.4-4-28-5

1982: Kapil led India for the first time in a ODI – against Sri Lanka at Amritsar.

23 December: Kapil scored India’s fastest fifty in Test cricket when he completed a 50 in only 30 balls in the second Test against Pakistan at Karachi. He went on to score a blistering 73 off only 53 balls.

1983:
7 Jauary: Kapil took 7 for 220 in the first innings of the third Test against Pakistan at Faisalabad to become the first Indian bowler to concede 200 or more runs in an innings against Pakistan.

19 January: An unusual dismissal for Kapil Dev in the fourth Test at Hyderabad (Pakistan) in 1983. He was bowled by Sarfraz Nawaz for two in the second innings. The unusual part was that all three stumps were uprooted.

11 March: Kapil played his 50th Test when he took the field against West Indies in the second Test at Port of Spain, Trinidad. He achieved the double of 2,000 runs and 200 Test wickets in this match and at 24 years and 68 days was the youngest player to do so.

29 March: Kapil scored a 22-ball fifty against West Indies at Berbice, then the fastest fifty by an Indian in ODIs.

9 June: India started their World Cup campaign under Kapil Dev’s leadership.

13 June: Kapil returned 5-43 against Australia at Nottingham to become first Indian bowler to take five wickets in a ODI

18 June: Kapil scored an unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells- first century by an Indian in this form of cricket. Kapil hit these 175 runs off 138 balls, with 16 fours and 6 sixes as India recovered from 9 for 4, when he came to the crease, and then 17 for 5. The next highest score was Syed Kirmani’s 24 not out. The match was not covered on TV nor is there any video recording of this great innings, because of a strike by technical workers in the BBC.

25 June: Kapil became the first Indian captain to lift the World Cup as India beat West Indies by 43 runs at Lord’s.

24 September: Mohsin Khan was trapped LBW by Kapil off the first ball of the Jullundur Test match.

16 November: Kapil Dev took 9 for 83 becoming the tenth bowler and the first captain to take nine wickets in a Test innings – v West Indies at Ahmedabad.

7 December: Kapil completed his 1,000 runs in ODIs in his 46th match – becoming the first Indian to reach this landmark.

1984:
31 December: Kapil got dropped for the only time in his Test career on disciplinary grounds for playing a loose shot in the previous Test (against England) after he had played in 66 consecutive Tests. He played in 65 more Tests consecutively, starting from the Madras Test in January 1985.

1985: Kapil passed Bishen Singh Bedi’s Indian record of 266 Test wickets against Sri Lanka at Kandy.

1986:
2 February: Kapil claimed his 100th wicket in ODIs to become the first Indian bowler to do so. He also completed the all-round double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.

1987:
7 January: Kapil became the second player after Ian Botham to score 3,000 runs and take 300 Test wickets when he dismissed Ravi Ratnayeke in the third Test against Sri Lanka at Cuttack.

20 March: Kapil completed his 2,000 runs in ODIs- became fourth Indian to do so after Dilip Vengsarkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Krish Srikkanth.

9 October: Kapil’s sporting act cost India a match! In the World Cup match at Chennai,Australia had made 268 for the loss of 6 wickets. One of Dean Jones’s shots was signaled as a four, but when the Australians later asked to allow it to be a six, Kapil Dev consented, a sporting act which ultimately proved decisive as India were all-out for 269 and lost the match by just one run.

Australia beat India by one run at Madras – the narrowest victory in World Cup history. Australia had made 270 for 6 and India replied with 269 in 49.5 overs. One of Dean Jones’s shots was signaled as a four, but when the Australians later asked to allow it to be a six, Kapil Dev consented, a sporting act which ultimately proved decisive.

1989:
15 November: Kapil played his 100th Test – v Pakistan at Karachi. At 30 years 313 days he became the youngest to do so.

1990:
6 March: Kapil completed his 3,000 runs in ODIs- became fourth Indian after Sun il Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Krish Srikkanth to do so.

30 July: Kapil hit Eddie Hemmings for six off the last four balls of his 20th over at Lord’s and helped India avoid the follow-on in the first Test against England. This was the first instance of a batsman hitting four successive balls for six in a Test match.

1991:
4 January: Kapil took a ‘broken’ hat-trick against Sri Lanka at Calcutta in Asia Cup final.His victims were Roshan Mahanama, Rumesh Ratnayake and Sanath Jayasuriya.

22 October: Kapil became first bowler in ODI history to complete 200 wickets.

1992:
13 November: In the first ever Test between India and South Africa at Durban, Kapil dismissed South African opener Jimmy Cook off the first ball of the match- caught by Tendulkar.

9 December: Kapil ran out Peter Kirsten for backing up too far before he had bowled in a ODI at Port Elizabeth. Kapil had warned Kirsten previously on the tour, but that did not prevent an ugly situation from developing. Kirsten was fined half his match fee for refusing to leave the crease, but Kepler Wessels’ obscene gesture to Kapil went unpunished.

1994:
30 January: Kapil equalled Richard Hadlee’s world record tally of 431 wickets when he dismissed Don Anurasiri to wrap up India’s innings victory over Sri Lanka at Bangalore.

8 February: Kapil surpassed Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets (then the highest in Test cricket) when he got the wicket of Hasan Tillekeratne of Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad. The feat was saluted by 432 balloons and a minute’s standing ovation.

27 March: Kapil became the first bowler in ODI history to complete 250 wickets.

17 October: Kapil’s last day in international cricket. He played in the first ODI against the West Indies in Faridabad, a match which the West Indies won.

1996: Daughter Amiya was born – after about 16 years of marriage

1999:
10 October: On Kapil’s coaching debut India were bowled out for a paltry 83 against New Zealand at Mohali. Some hard words from the coach did the trick and India managed to escape with a draw.

2000:
11 May: Kapil broke in a TV interview with BBC over match on fixing allegations.

2002:
23 July: Kapil was voted the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century.

2007:
May: Kapil joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) floated by Zee TV as the Chairman of executive board.

2008:
24 September: Kapil Dev joined the Indian Territorial Army and was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel by General Deepak Kapoor, Chief of the Army Staff.