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On This Day in 1994: The legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev equalled New Zealand legend Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets when he dismissed Sri Lanka’s Don Anurasiri in Bengaluru.
The World Cup-winning skipper represented India in 131 matches in red-ball cricket. (Image: ICC/X, formerly Twitter)
On This Day In 1994: One of the greatest players ever to play for India, Kapil Dev achieved a historic feat on January 30, 1994. During the second Test against Sri Lanka, played in Bengaluru, Kapil Dev made history as he equaled Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets. India had gone on to win that Test by an innings and 95 runs.
Mohammad Azharuddin, the then Indian captain who was named Player of the Match, presented the trophy to the legendary Indian all-rounder. Kapil Dev went on to finish his glorious Test career with 434 wickets under his belt. The World Cup-winning skipper represented India in 131 matches in red-ball cricket.
As Kapil Dev celebrates one of his historic feats today, we take a look at that special fixture between India and Sri Lanka.
Winning the toss, India decided to bat first and the decision proved to be absolutely spot-on. Riding on a couple of brilliant knocks produced by Mohammad Azharuddin, Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar, India managed to breach the 500-run total.
While Mohammad Azharuddin hit a ton, both Navjot Sidhu and Sachin Tendulkar missed out on their hundreds by one and four runs respectively. Coming out to bat down the line-up, Kapil Dev contributed significantly as he remained unbeaten at 53 off 68 balls. His sublime innings comprised six boundaries and two maximums.
India declared their innings having reached 541 runs at the loss of six wickets. Muttiah Muralitharan claimed four wickets in the first innings of the Test. Sri Lanka, in response, did not have a memorable outing as they managed to reach 231 in the first innings. Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble bagged three wickets each, while Manoj Prabhakar claimed four scalps.
Sri Lanka’s miserable batting continued in the second innings with the visitors managing to score 215 this time. At one point in the second innings, Sri Lanka found themselves reeling at 188/8, with Kapil Dev behind Sir Richard Hadlee’s 431 Test scalps by two wickets.
To match the record, it seemed that Kapil Dev would have to wait until the next Test. But he soon sent Pramodya Wickramasinghe and Don Anurasiri back to the dressing room and with it, he succeeded in achieving the milestone. Kapil Dev finished the second innings with figures of 2/41 in 8.3 overs.
- Location :
Bangalore, India, India
