Twenty years have been `bowled' since that V-day in Lord's when Kapil's Devils destroyed the superego of Clive's demolition men. Cricket enthusiasts still remember the final moments, which were telecast live, by Doordarshan on June 25, 1983.

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"It would sound strange to the new generation," says Sudhakaran Nair, a retired Government servant. "We were the only household having a television set in our locality; it was a 22-inch Keltron set, which would often shut down on its own. On the day of the final, the drawing room was swarmed by cricket buffs from the neighbourhood. There were strangers as well."
The cricket enthusiast of 1983 was an aboriginal when compared to what he is today. The technical know-how was limited to the textbook. "Many of us were seeing Kapil Dev and his men for the first time in our lives. For me, Silly Point was something too silly to discuss, and Third Man was the one other than the first and the second. For the esoteric among us, they were nothing more than the white spots on the field map of some moth-eaten rulebook. Even they were not sure of the way the game would be shown on TV. Every time the ball went off the screen, the kids would look beyond the corner of the TV to see more," says Nair.
1983 changed all that, and more!
"We had lost hope when India were bowled out for 183," says A. R. Harikrishnan, a bank officer, who was a 10-year-old kid when Indian cricket struck gold. DD would often tease its subscriber with the good old `sorry for the interruption' card, which was flashed once in a while. Whenever tension mounted on the crease, "grains" would invade the frame, prompting Sudhakaran Nair, to manhandle the `brightness' and `contrast' buttons.
"No one had dreamt of an Indian win. We were seeing a match live from across the seven seas. That itself was a victory for us," says Nair.
"Viv Richards was stepping out of the crease for almost all deliveries. And then came the news bulletin. We had lost hope. We were packing up when the live telecast resumed-- it was the replay of that terrific Kapil catch that broke the Windies backbone. The Haryana Hurricane had caught the West Indian twister! We were back in the game," says Hari.
People nurture different memories of the historic triumph. For some, it is the dejected face of Michael Holding that holds on. Others remember that awesome Sandhu inswinger, which finished Gordon Greenidge. But for most of them, it is that famous rabbit-toothed grin of Kapil that shines through. For the rest, it is Mohinder Amarnath plucking the stumps, after he had got Holding lbw.
"It was a divine night, and Kapil Dev was next to god," says Rajeev Kumar, a cricket buff. "I just went out, had a few pegs. We danced the whole night. From a distance we could hear the crackers going off," he adds.
"I just couldn't believe it. My friends say I cried," types in Nandu, who frequents the Yahoo cricket rooms from his official abode in Stuttgart, Germany. "My mom didn't, for once, come out of the prayer room. She spent the whole night praying for India. And when I informed her of the victory, she went crazy with joy. I can never forget that night," he `PMs' you.
Which was the turning point of the match?
"I think it was the wicket of Jeff Dujon that sealed their fate," says Nair.
"No, it was the dismissal of Richards," says Harikrishnan.
Manoharan, a tea stall owner, who didn't have the privilege to watch the golden day on television, shows you a newspaper cutting. The lead story carries a big photograph of Kapil with the Cup. The headline is simple, straight yet majestic. It just says: Jayichchu! (Won!). "It is as if, it all happened yesterday," Nandu logs back to the present.

Roger Binny on the World Cup:

Did your supporters or the team hold out much hope of winning the World Cup in 1983?

Considering our performances in the last two World Cups people just expected us to go and have another World Cup and come back. As a team we were looking to better that and come back with some sort of pride by winning a few more games.

Why did India pick medium pace seam bowlers rather than rely on their traditional strength of spin?

Former players like Bishan Bedi, who had played cricket in England, were on the selection committee. Instead of going along with the spin tactics of the past, they picked bowlers who would suit English conditions. That was one of the reasons that we did perform well.

Was there any point in the campaign that you thought you could do better than before?

What really kicked us off was beating the West Indies in the first match of the tour. That was really a morale booster for our team.

Australia thrashed you by 162 runs in a group game. Did that raise doubts in your minds?

It was a good thing that we lost that game because we were getting a bit over-confident after beating a team like the West Indies.

How did you beat the hosts England in the semi-final?

We basically went out and played it tough. We didn't really think that because England were at home they had the advantage over us.

How confident were you going into the final against the favourites?

At that point in time there was a lot of pressure built up on us because we had gone this far. The team was really doing well and we had to carry on with the good work. Our captain Kapil Dev said: 'We have reached this far and we have just one more game. Let's give it a good shot and try our level best.' And it worked for us.

How did India win after scoring just 183 batting first?

After we got out we really thought that we had come this far and thrown everything away. But in the lunch break the players started to try to boost the others up a bit because everybody looked down and out. The senior players said: 'We have to do it. We can't go back having lost the game.' And that lifted the players and everything started falling into place. We got Gordon Greenidge out early, and they kept tumbling one after the other.

At what point in the final did you think you were going to win?

It was at the wicket of Viv Richards, when Kapil caught him off Madan Lal. He was the main threat and when that wicket fell everybody started believing that we could do it.

How did people react to the win in India?

It was really hysterical and you had to be there to believe it. People were lining the streets, throwing money, flowers and greetings into our bus. This World Cup really changed the face of Indian cricket.