When Lata Mangeshkar celebrated India’s 1983 cricket World Cup win

Legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar has passed away at the age of 92. She was battling COVID for nearly a month and breathed her last at the Beach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday. As the Indians mourn her sad demise, the cricketing world relives when she celebrated India's victory during the 1983 Cricket World Cup.

After India defeated Windies in the final at Lord's and lifted the coveted CWC trophy for the first time, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wasn't prepared for the celebrations. As then BCCI president, late NKP Salve asked his friend Raj Singh Dungarpur for help; the latter asked Lata to perform a pro-bono concert at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. The two-hour show was a sold-out event, as the ticket prices ensured that BCCI paid enough to its World Cup-winning squad and members (₹1 lakh per head).

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Speaking to PTI, Sunil Valson said, "It was a very decent sum in those days. We would otherwise save up tour money and daily allowance for that month, and it came to barely ₹60,000. I remember some people said, 'we will give you ₹5,000, some said ₹10,000', which was very disrespectful. But then, Lata ji sang in that concert. What a function it was and one of the most memorable evenings to watch her sing live."

Since then, BCCI became highly grateful to her and kept a couple of complimentary VIP tickets for her at the Indian stadiums during India matches. Senior journalist Makarand Waigankar also revealed that Lata was an avid cricket fan and regularly visited the Cricket Club of India in the 1960s, followed by the Wankhede Stadium in the 1970s and 1980s.