![Kapil-Dev](https://img.etimg.com/thumb/msid-69511924,width-300,height-225,imgsize-369131,resizemode-75/kapil-dev.jpg)
Is it true that you had secretly carried a bottle of champagne with you on the morning of the final just in case...
It was no secret. I did indeed carry a bottle of champagne because I was confident of our chances based on the kind of cricket we had played in the World Cup. And as the game got over, I went to the West Indian dressing room to speak to Clive Lloyd and was surprised to see cartons of champagne lying around. Clive, who I still call skipper, was justly disappointed with the result and I remember telling him that he or his boys wouldn’t need the champagne bottles and they were better off being in our dressing room. Clive readily obliged and I carried four champagne bottles back to our dressing room. Those are the bottles you have seen in photographs of our celebrations.
Against a line-up like the West Indies, 183 wasn’t a very tall ask. At what point did you think you could actually win the game?
I never thought that 183 was no total for them to chase. I was always looking at it from the point of view that we had scored 183 and they needed to score that many to win the Cup. And I said to the boys that all we needed to do was bowl and field at our best for three hours to make history. Everyone was keen to make a contribution and everything fell in place. As the fourth wicket fell, we started to feel we could close out the game because it was evident to us all that the West Indians were under pressure. We kept picking up wickets and with each wicket the pressure mounted on them.
We have also heard that you finished off a bottle of milk soon after you returned to the dressing room after winning the game!
Yes, I did because I was very hungry. And the milk here was very good so it was something I really enjoyed. But that doesn’t mean that I did not have champagne thereafter!
I am sure you have been asked this question many times but I will still ask — when the Vivian Richards’ catch went up and you were under the ball, what were the thoughts that crossed your mind?
My mind was completely blank when I was under the ball. When you are trying to take a catch, you can’t clutter your mind with negative thoughts. All you need to do is focus on the ball and take the catch. That’s what I did. It was a huge moment in the game and I am glad the wicket fell at the time it did opening up the game for us.
You think the 175 not out you scored against Zimbabwe set the team up for the glory?
What happened after the Zimbabwe game was that we as a team started to believe we could win from any situation. If we could win that match after being reduced to 17 for 5, we could beat any team in the world from any situation. After that victory the captain had to do very little. The team was actually doing everything. They players would decide when they wanted to practice and I didn’t have to push anyone to do anything. Everyone was just that extra bit motivated to give his best. The other thing I can tell you about this game is that after winning the toss I had actually planned to take a long hot shower because I was to bat at number 6 or 7 and there was a lot of batting at the top. It was cold and the warm shower was something I was looking forward to. Just then someone called out for me saying I had to go out and bat. When I went out I asked the non striker what was happening and he said he couldn’t describe what was going on. None of our batsmen were beaten even once. Each ball they missed, they edged and were out. It was something extraordinary that was going on. All in all, it was an extraordinary day.
Do you think the current Indian team has it in them to do what you did in 1983?
Don’t say I did. We as a team won the Cup in 1983 and yes they have a great chance. First, they should try and make the last four. Once you are in the semi-finals anything can happen. So think of making the semi-finals first and take it from there. They are a very good side and can surely do very well in the World Cup.
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.