Arguably one of India’s best fast bowling allrounder, Kapil Dev, had a cricketing career any player in the world would be proud of. Till date, he is the only allrounder in the Test format with a double of 400 wickets and 5,000 runs.
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One of the biggest inspirational figures in India, who infused a sense of self-belief inside scores of budding cricketers by winning the 1983 World Cup for India out of nowhere, Kapil Dev ended his illustrious career with 5,248 runs with the help of eight hundreds, coupled with 434 wickets across 131 Tests.
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On February 8, 1994, Dev had gotten himself registered into the history books during the India versus Sri Lanka third Test match at Ahmedabad, the moment he got Hashan Tillakaratne caught at forward short-leg by the fielder Sanjay Manjrekar.
The occasion was later celebrated by releasing 432 balloons with a one-minute standing ovation.
Live telecast of IND vs SL match came to a halt to congratulate Kapil Dev
The aforementioned occasion refers to Kapil Dev creating the world record of scalping a total of 432 wickets – the highest-ever tally by a cricketer in the Test format. By dismissing Tillakaratne, he went past the great Richard Hadlee’s 431 Test wickets.
On national television, the live telecast of the match was brought to a halt for some time, and some clippings of his journey as Test cricketer played out before the viewers with a pre-recorded song playing in the background.
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The words of the song went like – “He is a winner, he is a champ; One Day or Test he is the best.” The next line was played in the Hindi language – “Haqueeqat hai yeh, khwab nahin; Kapil Dev da jawab nahin”.
The record was held by Kapil Dev for some good six years. West Indies legendary fast bowler Courtney Walsh ultimately went past his tally in March 2000.
