The only cricketer to receive three National Awards (Arjuna Award in 1979-80, Padma Shri ;2 and Padma Bhushan in 1991), Kapil Dev Nikhanj was an all-rounder of the highest class and a name to Nikon with. India never did have an opening bowler of real merit after partition till Kapil Dev came on the Hue in late 70s. A right-hand medium pacer of rare quality, a batssman who was arguably one of the biigest hitters of his time, a batssman, a leader and above all a odd human being, Kapil gave Indian cricket a new dimension and himself in the success it achieved.The World Cup title in 1983, Kapil Dev's contribution to Indian licket can never be measured in terms runs and wickets. It is his result-oriented approach that made him Immensely popular with the crowds and the media. His ability to change the course of a match either by batting or by bowling is legendary. He Born in Chandigarh on 6 January 1959, Kapil Dev was two months matuer of 17 when he took six for 39 against Punjab on his Ranji Trophy debut for Haryana at Rohtak in 1975. He punctuated his entry into big cricket with performance like 8 for 36.against J&K, 7 for 20 against Bengal and 8 for 38 against Services. His highest score of 193 against Punjab in 1979-80 is his career best knock- An alumnus of DAV High School and DAV College, Chandigarh, Kapil led Haryana in five of the 24 Ranji matches he played for the State. His 327 runs for Punjab University against Hissar Agriculture University in the Inter-University Tournament in 1977-78 is one of the tallest scores of the tourney. He captained the North Zone in the Duleep Trophy and created a record in the championship by winning all the three games in 1982-83. He also represented the Rest of India in the Irani Cup. His phenomenal success at the domestic level catapulted him into the Indian team on a tour of Pakistan in 1978. India lost the series but gained in the person of Kapil Dev who matured into a fine all-rounder, his most impressive performance coming in the third Test at Karachi when he made 59 for 48 deliveries including two sixes and eight fours. He never looked back after that tour. He was in top form when the West Indies came to India immediately following the Pakistan tour, hitting a century (126 not out) in the fifth Test at Delhi. That was followed by the tour of England in 1979 and Kapil emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the series- But throughout the tour he played only one good innings, 102 n 74 minutes against North amtonshire, a county he was to join two years later. By now he was reckoned as one of the four leading all-rounders in the game - the other three being Hadlee, Botham and Imran. Though his work as a strike bowler for India was cut out, he paid equal attention to his batting. One of his best innings was the century off 83 balls against England at Kanpur In 1982. The same year there was the explosive innings of 89 out of 117 added for the last four wickets in the second innings of the first Test against England at the Lord's. He hit Botham into the grand stand to reach 50 and hit two sixes off Phil Edmonds and was on course for the fastest Test century when he was out after batting 77 minutes. Source : "India's Highest Sports Awards and Those Who Won Them" by S.S.Gandhi, The Defence Review
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