Balwinder Singh Sandhu: ‘The ball pitched where I wanted it to pitch. Gordon Greenidge made it memorable’

Balwinder Singh Sandhu during the 1983 World Cup. (Image: Twitter/ICC)

Balwinder Singh Sandhu is a busy man on Tuesday, December 21. The last two years, the 65-year-old former medium-pacer has been in-charge of the cricket sequences in the movie '83. On December 22 at a premiere in Mumbai, he and his teammates will finally watch the much-awaited film, based on India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup.

The sense of relief and excitement is a bit greater as the film’s release was delayed due to the pandemic.

“The release is a big thing for us,” the soft-spoken Sandhu tells Moneycontrol on phone. “After we won the World Cup in 1983, people were on top of the world. Now this movie will have a similar kind of effect on them.”

Sandhu played for just about two years (eight Tests, 22 ODIs) for India, but is guaranteed a permanent place in history and recollections due to his thrilling dismissal of Gordon Greenidge, the formidable West Indian opener, in the final. Greenidge shouldered arms to the ball, expecting it to move away from the stumps. Instead it swung in and crashed into his stumps.

Rarely does a week go by without Sandhu being asked about that one ball bowled 38 years ago.

We ask him about it once more.

“The stage was so big, the batsman was so big,” Sandhu says. “And the ball pitched where I wanted it to pitch. Greenidge made the ball memorable by leaving it. He got deceived.”

Guess how many overs Sandhu bowled in eight matches at World Cup 83? He bowled 83 overs. The coincidence apart, it was a sizeable workload at a time when fitness training in cricket was not as advanced as it is now.

When asked, Sandhu says, “That’s (10 overs per match) nothing, I was used to bowling 20-25 overs a day. Ten overs was like a warm-up for us.”

Sandhu spoke about the extent of detailing that went into the making of ‘83’.

“After every over, pant kitni gandi honi chahiye... woh sab. (We ensured the trousers were stained just enough after every over). We were into absolute detailing,” he says. “Working with Kabir (Khan, director) was a learning experience on how films should be made.”

In the Sandhu brood, the person most excited about the film is his four-year-old grandson.

“He is a fan of Ammy Virk, who plays me,” says Sandhu. “He says it’s Ammy’s film, not mine.”