Twenty-five years ago, Indian cricket was redefined forever. No Indian cricket fan can forget June 25, 1983 - the day India won the World Cup at Lord's.
The show conducted by CNN-IBN editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai saw the legends candidly recall the big moment - both on the field and off it. From the team's strategy to who got to drink the most champagne to who got the maximum adulation from female fans, the show revisited some of the unseen, unheard of times.
The panel comprised Kapil Dev, the captain of that World Cup winning team; Sunil Gavaskar, an incomparable batsman; Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the man who started it all by bowling out Gordon Grenidge; Syed Kirmani, the finest wicketkeeper India has ever seen; Yashpal Sharma, one of the most astounding heroes of the '83 triumph and the charismatic Sandeep Patil.
Below are the excerpts from the show and thanks to CNN IBN.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Will the team be comfortable with the fast-paced Twenty20 cricket played in this day and age?
Kapil Dev:: No, I would rather play golf. It is too difficult and I won't like to do all the running around. Your appearance may suggest so but your legs don't move the same way.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Do you all still remember that day; is it fresh in your mind?
Sunil Gavaskar: Absolutely, because it was an unbelievable moment, an unforgettable moment for all of us. And it was not just for the team but also for all the Indians. It was a moment that got us together. As a team we shared that moment and so it's going to stay with us throughout.
Syed Kirmani: Yes, I will definitely tell my grandson that.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Did your believe that you could beat the two-time world champions?
Balvinder Singh Sandhu: Before going to the World Cup I gave an interview to Pratap Sahi from Ananada Bazaar Patrika and I said if our batsmen can get us 230 runs, we have a good chance.
Yashpal Sharma: Well, I was part of the 1979 World Cup and there we lost all three games and we decided that we will never win the World Cup but at least we will perform better than what we did in '79. We never thought that we will win the very first game against the West Indies.
Sandeep Patil: Crossing my heart, I never thought we will win, not to insult Indian cricket or the record of the Indian cricket but I thought that this was an opportunity for me to play the World Cup.
Krish Srikkanth also joined the discussion and greeted Kapil in Hindi: “Kapil paaji ab mera Hindi achcha ho gaya. 25 saal pehle mera Hindi kharaab tha lekin dekho ab mera Hindi kaisa ho gaya" (Now my Hindi has improved. 25 years ago it was bad but now it has become good)
Kapil Dev:: Ek hi baat hai, iska Hindi achcha ho gaya aur mera English achcha ho gaya. (It's the same thing. His Hindi was got better and my English has improved)
Rajdeep Sardesai: One of the great things about the team was that all of them came from different parts of the country and different communities and played together as a team?
Sunil Gavaskar: What makes India special is that we all come from different parts of a very big country with different cultures, also different kinds of diets and different attitudes apart from the language. We come together as a team on the field and even in the dressing room, you never think of which part of the country he is from..
Rajdeep Sardesai: Kapil's English and Srikkanth's Hindi were not a problem?
Sunil Gavaskar: Not at all. On the field there is very little talk. You know what your job is and you go about it to the best of your ability. You let your job do the talking and not your language.
Rajdeep Sardesai: There were some very special moments of that World Cup win. One was, Balwinder Singh Sandhu's in-swinger that bowled Gordon Grenidge. So, does Sandhu still remember that ball?
Balwinder Singh Sandhu: I think fans will never let me forget that ball. Every year I keep talking about the ball. I bowled Grenidge in the first game and also in Trinidad, he got bowled to an in-swinger. So at the back of my mind I knew he is not picking my in-swinger when I'm bowling close to the stumps.
Kirmani, however, had an interesting take on the Grenidge dismissal.
Syed Kirmani: When I congratulated him after he bowled that in-swinger, Sandhu told me - 'I bowled an out-swinger but it came in’.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Kirmani was also on the other end when Sandhu was hit on the head my Malcolm Marshall.
Syed Kirmani: After he was hit on the head, I didn't tell him anything. Marshall was fired by Dickie Bird, using all the four-letter words for using the bouncer on a tail-ender. He didn't realise that he had a turban under his helmet. So instead of rubbing his head, he was rubbing his helmet.
Balwinder Singh Sandhu:: I just told Kirti that don't worry, my head is well padded up.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Playing the West Indians during that time and taking them on, what was it?
Sandeep Patil: When we started the tour and room partners were assigned, I was lucky but my room partner was so unlucky to have me as a room partner. Fortunately or unfortunately it was Sunil Gavaskar, who shared the room with me. That was the reason why Gavaskar did not score runs. I kept him awake, I kept him out and I don't know how and where he used to spend time. I clearly remember me bombarding him with questions. In fact, I asked him if would be able to even see the balls of West Indians. He asked me what do you mean by 'the balls of the West Indians?' I told him the cricket balls that will be bowled by Marshall. I had not faced West Indians then and Sunil told me that you have faced Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson; you will be able to see the balls. I saw the ball and I hit a six.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Another batsman who hit a six was Krish Srikkanth, who hooked Andy Roberts for a six.
Kris Srikkanth:: Unfortunately, Sunny got out early in the match. The wicket was a bit damp and Joel Garner was making the ball move like anything and I didn't know what was happening, I was beaten often. Jimmy (Mohinder Amarnath) was on the other end and I told him - 'I don't know what to do, why don't you play him for a while.' Jimmy told me just play your natural game, do whatever you want. That gave me the license and I knew that if I hang around I will get out anytime, so let m get after the bowling.
Rajdeep Sardesai: But Sunil Gavaskar was the oldest member of the team, so did he have problems handling the younger men?
Sunil Gavaskar: No, we had been together for quite a long time and there was nobody new. And we knew each other for a few years. You never try to control a man like Srikkanth. What he used to do was make the man on the other end feel comfortable," said Gavaskar.
Rajdeep Sardesai: So did the team expect to win after they scored 183? And what did Kapil Dev: tell his men during the innings break?
Kapil Dev:: Getting to the final itself was a victory to us, that's how we were looking at it. If I remember correctly we had got extra time because we got out early. I just said c'mon Jawaano, let's fight it out. We have already made 183, now they have to make the runs. And Sunny said 'stop calling them jawaans, they are officers now.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Does anybody have the stumps from the match at your home?
Yashpal Sharma: I have a stump. If you see the footage, Jimmy tried to grab a stump but couldn't, so he got a bail. I got a stump and Roger Binny got another one. I don't know who got them from the other end. My second daughter when she was in the fifth standard only then did she realise that her father played the World Cup. Her colleugues used to tell her your father has played the World Cup.
Mohinder Amarnath, Man-Of-the-Match of that famous final, had a special message.
Mohinder Amarnath: That day seems like yesterday when Kapil Dev: lifted the cup, that was a very special moment because I felt I was part of the team which had created history. It was probably the beginning Indian cricket and whatever we see now I think started from there.
Rajdeep Sardesai: What did the team do after they won the World Cup?
Sandeep Patil: I was sharing a room with Sunil Gavaskar and during the later half of the tournament, Ravi Shastri joined me. I remember getting back to the hotel, we left lord's and it took us nearly one hour to get to our hotel, which was just around the corner. We had a quick shower and when we came down, there was not even room for a man to stand on one leg. It was so packed.
Yashpal Sharma: We are thankful to the Indian people in England especially in South hall because wherever we played there were 400-500 people who used to travel with us. That was a big support to us throughout the tournament.
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