Mohinder Amarnath popularly known as Jimmy Amarnath played an intrumental role in the 1983 World Cup Victory. Mohinder Amarnath, the vice-captain in 1983 World Cup displayed brilliant allround performance in the semi-final and final that earned him the "Man of the Match" in both crucial encounters.
His slow and late swing balls exploited the weather and pitch conditions to its best and he made his bowling almost unplayble for teams. His bowling was unpredictable and sometime it used to come with sheer pace after hitting the pitch.
"Mohinder has the laziest, relaxed way of bowling, as if he's jogging. But these are deceptive moves as he trips them by making the ball wobble and induce all kinds of indecisiveness in batting - Kapil Dev wrote, years later.
Semi-Final Against England - 46 Runs, 2/27 from 12 Overs
In the semi-finals against England, first he took important wickets of David Gower and Mike Gatting and then scored vital 46 runs to give India a solid foundation in chasing the target of 214. He conceeded just 27 runs in his 12 overs.
Final Against West Indies - 26 Runs, 3/12 from 7 Overs
In the finals, against the world's best bowling attack comprising Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Joel Garner. Team India was dismissed for a paltry score of 183 in 54.4 overs. Amarnath shows his temperament and scored 26 runs in low scoring match. He was the third highest scorer after Srikkanth (38) and Sandeep Patil (27).
He was introduced when Dujon and Marshall were at the crease and slowly building the partnership. They added 40 runs before Dujon was played on off the bowling of Amarnath. He soon picked up 2 more wickets including the last batsman. Amarnath picked up 3 wickets and was the most economical bowler. His figures of 3/12 from 7 overs was the highlight of the Indian bowling.
Overall Amarnath scored 237 runs and picked up 8 wickets in the tournament.
Sahir