Kapil Dev (Photo Source: X) Kapil Dev 's contribution to Indian cricket goes much beyond leading India to their first World Cup title in 1983. It might be the crowning glory of his career; but one of the greatest all-rounders and arguably the first Indian fast bowler who could win matches on his own, Kapil delivered many more memorable performances to lead his team to some famous wins. One such moment came during India's 1980-81 tour of Australia, which went down in history books as the first instance of an Indian team drawing a Test series Down Under.
It wouldn't have been possible unless an injured Kapil, with his thigh strapped heavily, bowled that brave spell of 5 for 28. Led by batting legend Sunil Gavaskar , India came into the third and final Test of the series 1-0 down, having lost the first match by an innings & four runs and hanging in to draw the second. Australia's reply to India's 237 in the first innings, thanks to Gundappa Viswanath's 114, was led by Allan Border 's century (124).
The hosts ended up taking a huge 182-run lead after posting 419 on the board. Indian hopes were further dented with Kapil's hamstring injury. India began their second innings in the most promising fashion, as openers Gavaskar (70) and Chetan Chauhan (85) stitched a 165-run partnership to take India to within 17 runs of Australia's lead.
But a controversial LBW decision against Gavaskar not just triggered an Indian collapse but also produced a controversial moment when the India captai.