India displayed one of the most dominating performances throughout the tournament

March 10 is an incredibly special day for the Indian cricket fans because on this day in 1985, the Men in Blue lifted the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket. The victory was extremely important for India because, after the team won the ODI World Cup in 1983, many people had referred to that win as a fluke. Therefore, by winning the 1985 tournament, India proved that they were very much at the level of other great cricketing nations and capable of competing at the highest level.

A tight bowling display

Batting first, PAK’s batting line-up posed no threat to India as the Indian bowlers kept the run flow tight. Wickets tumbled at regular intervals, with four at 33 until Javed Miandad and Imran Khan did their best to stabilise the innings with 48 and 35 runs, respectively. However, PAK only managed 176 runs on the board – thanks to three wickets each by Kapil Dev and Laxman Shivaramakrishnan.

India’s match-winning opening stance

In the second innings, India took control of the game from the outset, with the opening duo of Ravi Shastri and Kris Srikkanth scoring 63 and 67 runs, respectively. The rest of the target was chased by Md. Azharuddin and Dilip Vengsarkar, with India reaching it in 47.1 overs and eight wickets in hand.

Ravi Shastri, the headline grabber

1985: Ravi Shastri with his new Audi (1st in India) in Mumbai
He was the 'Man of Series' in World Championship Cricket pic.twitter.com/D36RrnXQmP

— Mumbai Heritage (@mumbaiheritage) September 17, 2023

Ravi Shastri grabbed all headlines as he was named the Champion of Champions for his eight wickets and 182 runs in the tournament. He also became the first ever player to receive a car, a 1985 Audi 100, for performing in international cricket. An Indian Express article quoted an anecdote from the game between Shastri and Miandad.

Javed Miandad: “Why are you looking at that car ? It’s not coming to you. We’re taking it home.”

Ravi Shastri: Dude, “You take a walk… because I’m getting that car.”

Men when it Comes to their EGO 🔥🥶 pic.twitter.com/G1Ivu7jPuL

— ` (@OxygenKohlii18) February 26, 2026

“Tu baar baar udhar kya deke raha hai” (Why are you looking there repeatedly?) Miandad said in his characteristic lisp. “Gaadi ko kyun dekh raha hai?!” (Why are you looking at the car?). Voh nahi milne waali hai tere ko! (You are not going to get it!).

"That's when I had one proper look at it and told him, 'Javed, meri taraf hi aa Rahi hai! (It’s coming my way, only!),'" said Shastri, as quoted by the Indian Express.

A dominant display throughout

Captained by Sunil Gavaskar, India not only won the tournament but did so by winning every single game of the tourney. In fact, the team picked all 10 wickets in every game except for the final match, in which they took nine wickets.

This was one of India's earliest dominant performances, a glimpse of how dominant India would become 41 years later.