Not known for his in-swingers, Sandhu surprised Greenidge with one delivered from close to the stumps.
The best thing about being an underdog is that there is no pressure on one to make it big. When India surprisingly entered the final of the World Cup in 1983, they were well and truly the underdogs. West Indies, the champions in the previous two editions were just one win away from completing a hat-trick and this match was supposed to be a walkover for them. That day though was the day when the unthinkable happened; India beat West Indies at the home of Cricket (Lord's) to win the World Cup, the first nation other then the men from the Caribbean Islands to lay their hands on the Prudential Cup as it was called then.
There's a lot to remember from that match, be it Krishnamachari Srikkanth's 38, the collective effort of the fabulous four (Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding) - all at the peak of their powers, Vivian Richards' blitzkrieg and his eventual dismissal caught by Kapil Dev, running across from mid-on to mid-wicket off the bowling of Madan Lal, and of course the famous moment when Mohinder Amarnath trapped Holding in front, to signal victory.
In between these magic moments, there is one that usually slips our mind - one that gave India the belief that they could defend their rather meagre score of 183 Balwinder Singh Sandhu cleaning up Gordon Greenidge, to give India their first breakthrough.
India needed early wickets if they were to mount any serious defence of their total. Up against them were two modern greats, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes. Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the youngest member of India's pace brigade had the envious task of attempting to stop the two batsmen from getting West Indies off to a rapid start.
Not known for his in-swingers, Sandhu surprised Greenidge with one delivered from close to the stumps. Expecting the ball to nibble away, Greenidge shouldered arms. The great West Indian batsman hadn't counted for the seam to jag back in and the ball clipped the top of the off-stump. Sandhu added the scalp of Larry Gomes, caught at the wicket as West Indies collapsed to 140 all-out, losing by 43 runs.
While Sandhu's dismissal of Greenidge entered cricketing folklore, it was also a fact that the Indian pacer had got the better of the West Indian great previously twice and both times the mode of dismissal was 'bowled'. The 'banana skin delivery' as the delivery famously came to be known continues to retain significance.
Despite being one of India's heroes' in the 1983 World Cup, Sandhu did not have a lengthy international career. He played just one more Test and a handful of ODIs before bowling out of international cricket. But he had made his mark as even today, Sandhu's name resonates with Greenidge's dismissal. And that one wicket in a way opened the flood gates that effectively ended the reign of West Indies as the top team.
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