1983 was a turning point of Indian cricket. It was a time when out of nowhere, a underdog India had defeated world champions West Indies in the first match, Indians scored the first ever hundred in Odi in the form of Kapil Dev's magical 175, and there was a hope for India to see what Kapil Dev saw. And with elevated confidence, India entered into the semifinals of the tournament after defeating Australia in last league stage match.

And the semifinal was against England, the host of all the world cups, and one of the best teams playing in the tournament. What was further in their favour was the fact that India had never defeated England in England in the ODIs. The odds were in England's favour , and so was the British media, who had already made a statement saying "it's only a question of whom will England meet in the final!" But the Indian team which had already surprised itself , was ready to surprise the hosts and the cricketing world yet again.

The English crowd in Manchester were overpowering the Indians. The day began with good opening partnership for England. But after the first one was gone, wickets kept falling at regular intervals for England, whose innings ended for 213. For India, skipper Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Roger Binny scalped wickets. But the most important wicket of Ian Botham was grabbed by Kirti Azad on a bowl which surprisingly remained low as well as spun. India was happy for that wicket, but Kirti was more happy for a spectator coming and keeping a 50 pound note in his pocket. But he still doesn't remember how he made the ball remain low as well as made it turn.

On contrary to English batting, Indian's started slightly slowly and steadily. And once the openers were back to the pavilion, Mohinder Amarnath and Yashpal Sharma took the attack on English bowlers. They both took their time and got the scoreboard moving. And then it was Sandeep Patil's onslaught which decimated England even further.

Even though Mohinder Amarnath was adjudged the player of the match for his all round abilities, it was Sandeep Patil's quickfire half century which helped the Indian team do the unthinkable. He amassed 51 runs off just 32 balls, with a staggering strike rate of 160 , 20 years before T20 cricket was invented. When English bowlers were looking to unsettle him post Amarnath's wicket, it was instead him who unsettled the English team.

It also unsettled the home crowd, and got the Indian crowd going. There was a premature invasion of pitch by Indian supporters, who thought the team has achieved the target , when the team was still 2 runs short of the target. Seeing the further danger of invasion, Bob Willis set the most unorthodox field by asking all the fielders to move to the off side to run back quickly to the pavilion leaving everyone amused. Patil and skipper Kapil Dev were also laughing at the unique field set. And all the players and umpires ran quickly after Patil hit the winning runs.

That sprint was quick, but it was a dream run for Indian team and their millions of supporters. That quickfire innings of Sandeep Patil made it possible for India to remain in the hunt of the unthinkable, which they did just 3 days later. Fondly saying about the match , Sandeep Patil says "It was my mom's birthday that day, and I wanted to make sure I am making it special to her". And a proud son of India gifted India a berth in the final of 1983 world cup, the best gift he could give to his mother and motherland India.