Step back into the summer of 1979 at Birmingham, where a young Kapil Dev made his mark in international cricket. Facing a dominant England batting line-up, Kapil captured his first ever five-wicket haul in Test cricket — taking all the wickets that fell in England’s massive first innings total.
Though India went down in the match, this was the moment the cricketing world saw the rise of a future legend. His pace, determination, and fighting spirit shone through as he began a journey that would later transform Indian cricket forever.
Relive this rare footage and witness how Kapil Dev announced his arrival on the grand stage — a spell that cricket fans will always cherish.
00:00In this video, we rewind to Birmingham 1979, a stage where a young Kapil Dev announced
00:06himself to the world of Test cricket.
00:08Against a strong English batting line-up, Kapil Dev produced his very first five-wicket
00:13haul in Test cricket, finishing with figures of 5-for-146.
00:18It was not the kind of spell that single-handedly swung the match for England, piled on a massive
00:24633-for-5 on a sun-baked perfect batting surface, yet what stood out was that every single English
00:32wicket to fall in that innings belonged to the young Indian paceman.
00:36None of his teammates could find a breakthrough, but Kapil Dev's energy, rhythm and raw pace
00:42made sure England's match was not entirely unchecked.
00:45So sit back and enjoy these vintage memories as we watch the young Kapil Dev's first-ever
00:50five-wicket in Test cricket, a moment that marked the rise of Indian future World Cup-winning
00:56captain.
01:20He's gone, caught, and it's well caught by Reddy, making his debut in Test cricket, and
01:28takes the first wicket, Kapil Dev the bowler, and Mike Brearley out just before lunch, caught
01:34Reddy bowled Kapil Dev 24, and it's 66-for-one.
01:39That's a more positive shot, hope you're bothering to run, short and great run, we're getting nice
01:52hallway off the mark with a square-cut four.
01:56Fine spinners they've had, and now it's been seen nearly all the way here today.
02:01That's a good shot, perfect timing in that shot, no effort at all, got his feet nicely in
02:10position, and clips it quite handsomely through mid-wick it for four.
02:13Second boundary for Reddy.
02:17And is it another catch?
02:22Yes, he's been given out, had to wait a little while, and once again the one had just carried,
02:27but Kapil Dev struck again, it's Randall to go this time.
02:32Out for 15, and two wickets are down for 90.
02:42And the keeper's really making hard work of this by being so deep.
02:49Well, it's another handsome square drive there by Gooch, nice way to get off the mark, over
02:55pitch ball, just lent into it.
03:02A lovely shot.
03:05Delightful square drive, in good position, and even the outswing,
03:10wasn't able to find the edge of the bat, that's a good shot from Graham Gooch.
03:17That's another typical Gooch shot, cracked it away square off the back foot, and all bowlers
03:26come in the light to big Graham out there.
03:34It was a good piece of cricket, but it wasn't a bad delivery, drifted away in the air.
03:43That boycott's positioning was very good.
03:49Well, now Kapil might not bowl in one, so he's taking the initiative.
04:04And he's managed to pick up the wicket as well, so that's pretty well called by E.R. Dexter,
04:14and Graham Gooch out for a magnificent 83.
04:17That was a lovely piece of batting, and good bowling from Kapil Dev, who now has all three
04:22wickets to fall.
04:23Boycott on the verge of a century.
04:30That was a bit unlucky there, a little hit on the stumps, and the overthrow would have
04:35given him the hundred.
04:36As it is, he stays on ninety-nine.
04:38A little batsmanship here.
04:44Another great shout, and he's given him out.
04:50A long deliberation there from Barry Mayer.
04:52Boycott looks slightly disappointed, but Kapil Dev has struck after a long, long wait.
04:57So this great long innings of boycott ends.
05:00He falls over the W. He's not all that happy about it.
05:03A wide smile on his face, but he can't really complain.
05:07One hundred and fifty-five he's made out of a total now.
05:10Four hundred and twenty-six for four.
05:11The end of another long and marathon performance from the Yorkshire opener.
05:18Applause not only from a very goodly Friday crowd here, but the Indian players too in the middle
05:23are applauding this senior English cricketer all the way into the pavilion, and that's a very nice one.
05:29Senior replay here.
05:31And Geoff went half forward.
05:34And both of them away, tickled that nicely down to a long leg.
05:45And he gets four runs for it.
05:50Applause
05:55Another guy.
05:57And there's the fifth wigger down.
06:06Ian Botham a good one, and it's Kapil Dev again.
06:09Well, it depends on the length of the innings, whether or not Kapil Dev takes all ten.
06:14He's got all five at the moment.
06:16And, uh, it's the best performance of, uh, his test career.
06:19Well, Kapil Dev, he gets, and I think both of them was really sort of looking for a bad ball here to give it a big wallop.
06:26As it was, it was a cracking good ball.
06:28Just nipped back at him.
06:30He was making a big drive at a ball which was never there.
06:34Oh, what a great stroke.
06:42A certain amount of contempt in that.
06:45Bit casual and just stroked it away rather than hit it.
06:49It's to Gower now.
06:51So, another single to Gower.
06:56Single bringing England onto this, uh, huge total of 600.
07:02Although, India eventually lost the test match by 83 runs.
07:07The bigger story was the emergence of a spirited all-rounder who would go on to redefine Indian cricket.
07:14Kapil Dev's lively burst troubled top English fastman.
07:17And even in defeat, he showcased a glimpse of the fighting spirit and match-winning ability that would one day carry India to glory.
07:25This was more than just a five-week haul.
07:27It was the birth of a new era.
07:29Kapil Dev had arrived and he was here to stay.
07:33His journey from this modest beginning would later blossom into one of the greatest cricketing stories of all time.
07:39What set him apart was not just the wickets he took, but the heart and hunger he brought to the game.
07:45Even at such young age, he carried the look of a cricketer destined to shoulder responsibility, to inspire belief and to bring a new fighting catch to Indian cricket.
07:55This performance at Birmingham was just the first flicker of the fire that would later blaze across world cricket.
08:02For fans today, it served as a reminder that greatness is often born in moments that don't dominate the scorecard, but leave an everlasting mark on the game's history.
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