By IANS
Mumbai : India’s triumphant Twenty20 cricket team returned home to an euphoric welcome as tens of thousands of fans young and old braved rains to cheer the players all through the 30 km from the Mumbai airport to the Wankhede Stadium that was packed to the rafters.
The boisterous party began soon after 8 a.m. as an Emirates plane landed from Johannesburg and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped out leading a young team that made history Monday defeating Pakistan in a pulsating final by five runs with just three balls to spare.
The waiting fans went into frenzy beating drums and loudly cheering the players. Yuvraj Singh and S. Sreesanth responded with an impromptu bhangra, to a roaring approval from a large delirious crowd waving scores of Indian flags. Security personnel had a tough time as hundreds surged towards the customs area for a glimpse of the players.
Once the team was on the deck of a red open-top bus, decorated with photographs of the players, it snaked its way towards the Wankhede Stadium escorted by 50 traffic policemen astride motorcycles, bringing virtually the entire Mumbai out on the streets to hail a team on behalf of a cricket-crazy nation.
Ignoring the rain, the players danced a jig. Some draped themselves with the national flag. Dhoni and the others waved to the mass of humanity lining the streets, the outnumbered policemen doing their best to keep the crowds away from the bus.
The captain, sporting a huge tilak on his forehead, kept aloft the trophy. Irfan Pathan snapped photographs. Sreesanth kept clapping while Harbhajan Singh could not stop smiling.
The cavalcade – including DJ Aqeel who provided music from a bus ahead – covered the 30-km long route along the Western Express Highway passing Andheri, Bandra, Mahim, Shivaji Park, Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi, Peddar Road and on to seafront Marine Drive before reaching the stadium after more than five hours.
At places, unable to contain themselves, even the men in khaki threw rose and marigold petals in the air. Thousands of children joined the throng, dancing and waving the Indian tri-colour and waving placards.
Much later, at the stadium, a grateful Dhoni told the crowds: “Mumbai is a city that is always on the move but the Indian team has brought to it to a standstill. We knew our victory was a big achievement for the country, but we didn’t realise it was so big.
“It has been a great achievement for a young team, most of whose players come from small towns where there is no infrastructure like in the bigger cities,” he added, unable to avoid having a dig at the powers that be of India’s cricket world.
Said Yuvraj, whose towering six sixes in an over helped India rout England: “It is hard to believe that we are the world champions. The reception we got was unbelievable.”
Agriculture Minister and Indian cricket board president Sharat Pawar said at the stadium: “I want to welcome the team that has made the country proud with their achievement. I am grateful to the entire nation for cheering the team.”
But politicians and board officials occupied the front row of the seats on the dais, sadly relegating the players to the second row. Only Dhoni got a front row seat, next to a beaming Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah.
Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil and a whole host of dignitaries gave away presents to each member of the squad.
Wednesday’s scenes were reminiscent of the 1971 ticker tape welcome accorded to Ajit Wadekar’s team after they beat England for India’s first Test series win in Old Blighty.
Wadekar told a TV channel: “It’s such a great feeling that people are excited about cricket again. This was a young team and it stood up to the toughest tests defeating teams like South Africa, Australia and Pakistan.”
Several members of India’s 1983 World Cup winning squad were on hand to praise their triumphant successors.
Mohinder Amarnath said: “It is great to see people’s love for the game. One good performance is all it takes to bring back the fans who were so disappointed in March when India went out of the World Cup in the West Indies.”
Some of the best tributes came from ordinary folks.
“Who said we are not world beaters? Nobody had expected us to fare well in the latest truncated version of international cricket, let alone win it. But we have proved the world wrong,” said Dinesh Keshwa, a 20-year-old dancing to drumbeats and singing the popular Bollywood number ‘Chak De! India.’ “We are the world champions!”