1. Kapil Dev debuts
Till then, Indian new ball bowlers were treated as part-timers whose duty was to take the shine off the ball before spinners took over. But the ball that forced Sadiq Mohammad to wear helmet changed the whole scenario. Indian kids began to think seriously about bowling fast and what followed was a revolution. If India have a good pace battery now, it all began with one man 40 years ago - Kapil Dev.
2. 1983 World Cup
Kapil led from the front as India defeated the mighty West Indies at Lord's by 43 runs to lift the Prudential World Cup. His running catch to dismiss the dangerous Vivian Richards off Madan Lal will forever be embossed in the conscience of cricket lovers. The moment changed the match and cricket's stature in India.
3. First 17/5 then came 175
Courtesy incisive spells by Peter Rawson and Kevin Curran, father of current England cricketers Sam and Tom, Zimbabwe had reduced India to 17/5 in a group match at Tunbridge Wells. It soon became 78/7 but Kapil kept soldiering on in the company of Madan Lal and then Syed Kirmani. Kapil remained unbeaten on 175 (138 balls, 16x4, 6x6) and his strike rate was 126.81. India won the match by 31 runs.
4. 6, 6, 6, 6 and Kapil saves follow-on
At 430/9, India needed 24 more runs to avoid follow-on during the first Test against England at Lord's. With last man Narendra Hirwani for company, Kapil took the responsibility of wiping out the deficit on himself. He launched a brutal assault on Eddie Hemmings and smashed him for four sixes in a row to avoid follow on. England won the match by 247 runs but Kapil's feat will forever remain as a testimony of his indomitable spirit.
5. 129 vs South Africa
After conceding a 63-run first innings lead to South Africa, India were in massive trouble at 31/6 as Allan Donald, Brett Schultz and Brian McMillan tore apart the visitors in Port Elizabeth. But in the company of Manoj Prabhakar, Kiran More and Anil Kumble, Kapil held the innings together with a 129 (180b, 14x4, 1x6). It enabled India to set South Africa a target of 153. South Africa eventually won the Test by 9 wickets but it could have been worse without Kapil's innings.