It was a glittering, nostalgic night to remember for Kapil's Devils, who from being rated 66 to 1 outsiders, batted and bowled their way to lift the 1983 World Cup. The celebrations at the venue they stunned the cricketing world was a journey down memory lane for the players.
It all began with Kapil Dev opening a bottle of champagne and spraying the bubbly from the balcony of Lord's pavilion on Wednesday night, just like he did 25 years ago.
This was followed by dinner where a replica of the Prudential Cup was presented by BCCI president Sharad Pawar and Vijay Mallya to the players.
Gavaskar spoke about the historic ball he had kept as a memento. “Even as I was running towards the ball, there was a big roar and I knew the batsman had been given leg before. I took the ball, put it in my pocket and ran. I think it was the fastest sprint of my life.” On speculation that the victory was a fluke, Kapil retorted, “If that was fluke, then we couldn't have won the 1985 Bensen & Hedges World Championship. You can win a match or two by fluke, but not the World C’ship or World Cup.”
Mallya, whose UB Group sponsored the event, unveiled a bat studded with 25-carat diamonds and a ball, also encrusted with diamonds. The items are to be auctioned by Sotheby's and the proceeds will be divided between the 15 players.
{{/usCountry}}Mallya, whose UB Group sponsored the event, unveiled a bat studded with 25-carat diamonds and a ball, also encrusted with diamonds. The items are to be auctioned by Sotheby's and the proceeds will be divided between the 15 players.
{{/usCountry}}One of the offshoots of the evening was the thawing of relations between Kapil and Pawar.