On this day in 1983, Team India defeated the West Indies at the Lord’s Cricket Ground to clinch their maiden World Cup win. Captained by former all-rounder Kapil Dev, India were not the favourites to win the tournament but an inspiring dressing room speech by the skipper changed everything for the team. The World Cup-winning squad of 1983, spoke to NDTV about that historic day. The squad also highlighted the key moments such as Kapil Dev’s running backwards catch of Viv Richards in the final and Balvinder Sandhu’s ball of the century to Gordon Greenidge that played a pivotal role in the triumphant journey. 

Following are the highlights:

• Kirti Azad introduced the whole squad with a one-liner, calling Yashpal Sharma ‘kaaju, kishmish‘ and Mohinder Amarnath the “silent assassin” of the team.
• Lot of people say there is too much pressure but we decided to go on the field and enjoy the moment. It was our mantra for success, said former India captain Kapil Dev.
• On the mindset going into the 1983 World Cup, Mohinder Amarnath said we thought we were as big as any other team, and we were not going just to participate but to compete and win the tournament. 
• Kapil Dev had faith in every individual and he allowed every individual to do their job, said Sandeep Patil.
• Kirti Azad: Kapil Dev is the legend, he used to take joke on himself. We have a WhatsApp group and the bond is still there.
• Certain days god has created for you and I think that day (scoring 175 against Zimbabwe) was made for me. I just went in and it came good, Kapil Dev on his historic knock in the 1983 World Cup.
• The love and affection we got from the people – no money can buy that. I don’t have words for it: Kapil Dev
• The real singer in the 1983 World Cup-winning squad is Mohinder Amarnath, says Kris Srikkanth.