1983 World Cup triumph revisited by Kapil Dev and teammates at book launch

Members of the 1983 World Cup-winning team during the launch of the book. Pic/Atul Kamble

There were several moments which impacted India's 1983 World Cup cricket campaign. Swing bowler Balvinder Singh Sandhu's dismissal of WI opener Gordon Greenidge in the final, Kapil Dev's terrific running catch off S Madal Lal which ended Vivian Richards's 28-ball 33 while chasing India's 183, Kapil's unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe after being 17 for 5.

However, the India skipper, who scored an eight-ball 15 and then took 1-21 in his 11 overs in the final, felt there was another critical factor.

On the 39th anniversary of India's famous win, Kapil pointed to all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath's (7-0-12-3) wicket of Michael Holding (6) when the medium pacer trapped him LBW to seal the victory.

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"The first thing that comes to my mind was the last wicket, when Jimmy [Amarnath] bowled the ball and [Holding] was adjudged LBW," Kapil said during an interaction with commentator and presenter Harsha Bhogle at the launch of a coffee table book - the 1983 World Cup Opus - in Mumbai on Saturday.

The 1983 World Cup-winning team members graced the occasion with Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri joining the interaction via video conference.

Kapil also lavished praise on the team's character. "I think we had very mature players, We had very young players too, and to me, the character [of the players] was more important. This team had character and that's what I feel proud about," he said.