The 1983 cricket World Cup may not be a big event for the world, but for India, it remains groundbreaking. It will always be.
That victory at Lord’s was symbolic for our not-so-old independent country and everyone saw themselves in the 11 people who won the trophy.
Now, at the time the 1983 World Cup happened, documentation of the sport was not so advanced. However, and luckily enough, we have enough footage to go back to. This includes the interview our captain Kapil Dev gave after winning the tournament.
He said that he was very happy with the way the team performed and when asked to send out a message to his countrymen, proudly declared:
I am very happy, happy about what my team has done today…We want to come here again, next time, with the same spirit and we should do it next time as well.
Kapil also said that celebrations will follow the win, and elaborated on the attitude of the team.
We played like winners throughout the tournament. Everybody said we will fight for our lives, we will do it.
They did play like they were fighting for their lives. They did do it. You can watch the interview, here: