When Lata Mangeshkar raised money to honour India's World Cup winning side in 1983

Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar passed away early morning on Sunday, February 6, aged 92. She breathed her last around 8 am in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital where she was admitted for a long time after testing COVID-19 positive with mild symptoms. While she is one of the most famous and respected playback singers in India having won numerous awards and accolades, the music legend was also an avid cricket fan as well.

Lata Mangeshkar was reportedly in attendance during the 1983 World Cup final at Lord’s where Kapil Dev’s India got the better of the then mighty West Indies to be crowned the world champions for the very first time. While this was the first major achievement in the history of Indian cricket, the players had to be given cash prizes and it was the Bharat Ratna awardee who ensured that the cricketers got the reward that they rightfully deserved.

Lata Mangeshkar raised INR 20 lakh with her show

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wanted to honor the Kapil Dev-led side after they had ended the Caribbean dominance by lifting the 1983 World Cup. But unfortunately, they did not have the funds to do so. The BCCI was not the global cricketing superpower back in the day and therefore, it was impossible for them to make arrangements to make such a phenomenal amount.

That is when the then cricket administrator Raj Singh Dungarpur urged for Lata Mangeshkar’s support and requested her to do a musical programme in Delhi to raise money. The three-time National Award winner obliged and the function went ahead smoothly and surprisingly, the concert ended up raising a whopping sum of INR 20 lakh which was a royal sum at that time.

Even though the singing legend had come forward for a noble cause, she did not charge anything for her performance. Thus, the players were rewarded handsomely for their outstanding on-field performances. Coming back to the 1983 World Cup final, opener Kris Srikkanth’s 38 and vital knocks of 26 and 27 from Mohinder Amarnath and Sandeep Patil took India to 183.

In reply, the West Indies seemed to be cruising towards an easy win with Viv Richards taking the Indian bowlers to the cleaners at regular intervals. Once he was dismissed courtesy of an unbelievable catch from Kapil Dev, the lower-order did show some resistance but were bowled out for 140.