It felt like we won the World Cup yesterday

The Lord's balcony, the Prudential Cup, the fond memories of 25 years ago; it was a wonderfully nostalgic trip for the 15 of us, thanks to Sunil Gavaskar. Returning to the venue where we won the World Cup for India shall remain one of the most treasured moments of my life.

The celebrations were awesome as the BCCI too contributed to make it a memorable event with a function in Delhi. The media attention was mind-blowing and we felt top of the world again, reliving that epic win of 1983.

To experience the joy again at Lord's was Gavaskar's idea and it was indeed a fabulous gift to the team. The reunion of the `boys' was a very emotional experience and the bond that we shared 25 years ago was only strengthened further as Kapil took us down memory lane.

His long speeches in English 25 years ago made little impact on us. It was hard to understand what he wanted to say. ``Chalo jawano ladenge.'' These three words stuck in our mind before taking the field against the West Indies in the final. He has hardly changed. Much of his speech was ``bumper'' for us today too because he was so emotional, and understandably too.

Not much has changed. Yashpal (Sharma) and (K) Srikkanth continue to `fight'. In fact, their banter was incredibly fresh as the two went for each other, just as they used to 25 years ago. It was terrific to be together even if it meant seeing some players hitting the bed early. These were the guys who hardly slept 25 years ago. Times have changed. Those who hit the bed at 10 in 1983 were now reporting for the party at 10.

Kirti Azad was as restless as ever. In fact, he was the livewire on the flight to London after a lovely dinner at Kapil's house. We had not slept at all and were obviously exhausted by the time we settled into our seats when Kirti stirred everyone into action by opening a champagne bottle.

Kapil continued to be the leader, concerned at every little thing, keen to ensure the comfort of the team. He, Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have grown so much in stature but here they were down to earth, pulling pranks like kids and lighting up the occasion with their humour. Yashpal and Srikkanth were relentless but then no one took them seriously.

At Lord's, it was nice of MCC to allow us walk on to the pitch, spend time on the balcony and relive those great moments. Gavaskar went and stood at the spot where he had taken catches in the slips; Kapil followed the trail of the skier from Viv Richards and felt the spot where he completed that marvellous catch. Srikkanth played an immaculate square-drive off Roberts. It was all so fresh in our mind. It was as if we had won the World Cup only yesterday.

The same man who had brought us a bottle of champagne then, once again obliged us. Our manager, PR Man Singh, made us stand in the same sequence. Oh, it was so exciting. Nothing had changed. Sorry, there was one difference. The sea of Indians in the galleries was missing. But as we noted, we had their wishes. It was an unforgettable experience and I pray India win the World up once again.