India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on his favourite moments of the 1983 Prudential World Cup final.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is equally vociferous like any other Indian cricket fan when it comes to praising Kapil Dev and company as they celebrate the silver jubilee of the 1983 World Cup victory.

"Defending 183 most teams would have lost the game in the dressing room. You can say it was the turning point in Indian cricket. Since then, the Indian team started winning more tournaments abroad and the sport became very popular among the masses. And to me the most enduring moment was to see Kapil Dev holding the World Cup," Dhoni told an Indian national Daily.

"Just as we owe our independence to all those great leaders who fought for freedom, likewise every modern-day cricketer owes a debt of gratitude to Kapil Dev‘s winning team," he added.

At the time when Kapil's Devils where winning the world. Dhoni was a couple of years old. This is why he had to make some effort to try and update himself on that dream triumph.

"I watched the 1983 World Cup recently out of sheer curiosity," he said.
"I asked for the DVD from one of my friends and I got goose pimples watching the West Indies crumble. It was so unbelievable and yet so memorable," he added.

Dhoni said he had six favourite moments of the game starting right with the wicket of Gordon Greenidge that was picked up by Balwinder Singh Sandhu. "He swung it a long way. I've never seen anything like that before," he said.

Kapil Dev's catch that sent back Vivian Richards "was simply breath-taking" and Syed Kirmani's catch off the first ball after tea to dismiss Bacchus was "amazing", he added.
"In fact, I had no idea that they had lunch and tea breaks for an ODI and that they played 60 overs a side," said the World Twenty20 winning captain.

"Then, obviously, the last wicket (Michael Holding) taken by Mohinder Amarnath. That was a magic Moment," he said.

The fifth favourite moment, that of Sunil Gavaskar pocketing the ball after taking two catches, he said reminded him of Sachin Tendulkar doing that at time "although these days the umpires are quick to collect the ball after each dismissal".
Dhoni said he was also surprised by the sight of Andy Roberts being consoled all the way back to the pavilion by a West Indian supporter. "I thought Roberts would smash his head but luckily nothing like that happened."