The eight teams at the tournament were divided into two groups of four, and each team would play the others in their group twice. The top two teams from each group then advanced to the semi-finals, which were played as a single-elimination tournament. Every game was 60 overs a team, and there were no day/night matches.
Eight teams qualified for the final tournament (seven full ICC members, including recently appointed full member Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe, who qualified by winning the 1982 ICC Trophy).
| Team | Method of qualification | Finals appearances | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
| England | Hosts | 3rd | 1979 | Runners-up (1979) |
| India | Full member | 3rd | 1979 | Group stage (1975, 1979) |
| Australia | 3rd | 1979 | Runners-up (1975) | |
| Pakistan | 3rd | 1979 | Semi-final (1979) | |
| West Indies | 3rd | 1979 | Winner (1975, 1979) | |
| New Zealand | 3rd | 1979 | Semi-finals (1975, 1979) | |
| Sri Lanka | 3rd | 1979 | Group stage (1975, 1979) | |
| Zimbabwe | 1982 ICC Trophy | 1st | — | Debut |
Unlike in previous Cricket World Cups, the group stages were played in a double round robin format. Group A comprised the hosts England, Pakistan, New Zealand and Sri Lanka; while Group B contained reigning champions West Indies, India, Australia, and the sole qualifier Zimbabwe. Unlike in later World Cups, with formats designed such that all games could be screened live on television, matches took place simultaneously at multiple venues, with matches played every other day and a reserve day in case of rain, although only three of the matches required a second day. In Group A, England started strongly with a 106 run victory over New Zealand at The Oval, scoring an imposing 322/6 in their innings, driven by a partnership of 115 in 16 overs between Allan Lamb and Mike Gatting. Pakistan also started with a win, by 50 runs over Sri Lanka, despite being hampered throughout the tournament by Imran Khan being unfit to bowl, after scoring 338/5 in 60 overs. England's second group match brought a second win, as David Gower's 130, including five sixes and 12 fours, powered a 47 run win over Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, New Zealand beat Pakistan by 52 runs despite Abdul Qadir's 4/21 in 12 overs. England then beat Pakistan by 8 wickets with nearly ten overs to spare at Lord's, while Richard Hadlee's 5/25 saw Sri Lanka bowled out for 206, New Zealand getting home with over 20 overs to spare. England's only defeat of the group stages came in the fourth round of matches, against New Zealand, off the penultimate ball of the New Zealand innings. Pakistan triumphed over Sri Lanka, once again led by Abdul Qadir (5/44). The fifth round of matches on 18 June saw England seal their place in the semi-final, with a first wicket partnership of 115 between Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavaré alone scoring nearly half of Pakistan's 232. Meanwhile, New Zealand failed to secure passage to the knockout stage, losing to Sri Lanka in a low scoring affair. In the final round of matches, England beat Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in a match with no implications for the final table. The match between New Zealand and Pakistan would decide the second qualifier. Any win by New Zealand would be sufficient to see them qualify; Pakistan had not only to win, but do so by a sufficient margin to overhaul New Zealand's average run rate. An 11 run victory for Pakistan proved sufficient, as Zaheer Abbas made an unbeaten 103 before New Zealand were bowled out. Group B started with the first shock of the tournament, as Zimbabwe beat Australia in what Wisden described as "a bigger surprise than any in the previous two world cups". Duncan Fletcher led the way, making 69* and being awarded man of the match. In the other opening Group B match, India delivered another "shocker" as they beat the holders West Indies by 34 runs, bowling them out for 228 with 35 balls to spare – the first defeat suffered by the West Indies in a World Cup as they had dominated both the 1975 and` 1979 tournaments without losing a single match in either tournament. Wet weather in the second round of games played on 11 June led to low scores. West Indies scored 252/9 in their innings, which stretched over two days, against Australia; in response, Australia were bowled out for 151 in just 30.3 overs, an effort not helped by Graeme Wood being taken to hospital with severe concussion after being hit by Michael Holding. India comfortably beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets in the contemporaneous fixture. Two days later, Australia defeated India by 162 runs, with man of the match Trevor Chappell scoring 110 off 131 balls and Ken MacLeay taking 6/39. The other match that day was also a one-sided affair, as West Indies restricted Zimbabwe to just 217/7 in their 60 overs, despite Duncan Fletcher scoring another unbeaten half century, and then romped home with a partnership of 195 for the third wicket between Gordon Greenidge and Larry Gomes. In the first of the return fixtures, West Indies overcame India by 66 runs, with Viv Richards making 119; for the second time in the tournament, an opposing batsman retired hurt, as Dilip Vengsarkar was the unlucky batsman on this occasion, hit in the mouth by Malcolm Marshall. Australia beat Zimbabwe by 32 runs to level their account in the tournament. The India v Zimbabwe match on 18 June was described by Wisden as "a remarkable match contained one of the most spectacular innings played in this form of cricket", as Kapil Dev coming in to bat with India at 9/4 that soon became 17/5, went on to score 175 not out from India's score of 266/8, which Zimbabwe narrowly failed to chase down, India winning by 31 runs. West Indies qualified for the semi-finals with a match to spare, beating Australia by 7 wickets substantially due to a partnership of 124 for the second wicket between Greenidge and Richards. That left West Indies versus Zimbabwe as a dead rubber, and West Indies duly won by ten wickets with nearly fifteen overs to spare. The final group B match was a straightforward tussle for qualification between Australia and India. However, after India had made 247 all out, in a team effort where the highest score was 40 and there were 37 extras, Australia collapsed to 129 all out, with Madan Lal and Roger Binny taking four wickets each.
England won the toss and elected to bat. In the first semi-final, at Old Trafford on 22 June, England won the toss and elected to bat. The English batsmen mistimed many balls and used the bat's edge frequently, as the restrictive Indian bowling led England to score 213 (all out, 60 overs). Graeme Fowler (33 from 59 balls, 3 fours) top scored, and Kapil Dev took 3 for 35 in eleven overs, with Mohinder Amarnath and Roger Binny taking two wickets each. In reply, Yashpal Sharma (61 from 115 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Sandeep Patil (51 from 32 balls, 8 fours) made half-centuries, as India reached their target in 54.4 overs, winning by 6 wickets in a classic victory over the previous tournament's runners-up. Mohinder Amarnath (46 from 92 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) picked up the man-of-the-match award for his all round performance, which saw him add 46 runs to his earlier bowling success (2/27 in 12 overs). West Indies won the toss and elected to field. The second semi-final, between Pakistan and the West Indies, was staged at The Oval on the same day. West Indies won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat, whom they restricted to just 184 (8 wickets, 60 overs). Mohsin Khan (70 from 176 balls, 1 four) fought his way past 50 against the formidable West Indies bowling attack (he was the only Pakistani batsman to reach 50). Malcolm Marshall (3/28) and Andy Roberts (2/25) starred with the ball. The West Indies innings was based around a superb innings by Viv Richards (80 from 96 balls, 11 fours, 1 six), who took the man-of-the-match award, and an unbeaten half-century by Larry Gomes (50 from 100 balls, 3 fours), as the defending champions reached their target for the loss of just two wickets.
West Indies won the toss and elected to field. , Faoud Bacchus (WI) played his final international match. In the final, India lost the toss and were asked to bat first against the West Indies. Only Krishnamachari Srikkanth (38 from 57 balls) and Mohinder Amarnath (26 from 80 balls) put up any significant resistance as Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding ripped through the Indian batsmen, ably supported by Gomes. Surprising resistance by the tail allowed India to compile 183 (all out, 54.4 overs). Sandeep Patil and Madan Lal saved the game to get the team past the 150-run mark at a critical point in the match where India scored 183 runs. Without those two batsmen, India's score would have been lower. The Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the West Indies for 140 from 52 overs, winning by 43 runs and completing one of the most stunning upsets in cricket history. It still remains the lowest ever total successfully defended in a World Cup final. Amarnath and Madan Lal each took three wickets. Viv Richards, was West Indies' top scorer with 33 from 28 balls. Kant was the most economical bowler, conceding 0 runs from his two overs. Amarnath was once again awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1983.
The 2021 Indian biographical film 83 portrays Team India's triumph in the World Cup. Indian actor Ranveer Singh played the role of India captain Kapil Dev in the film. , 1983, a 2014 Indian Malayalam language film that had the core of its story based on the 1983 Cricket World Cup. It centered on Rameshan, played by Nivin Pauly, and his memories from 1983, when India won its first World Cup under Kapil Dev.
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