By IANS,
Mumbai : From the cramped slums of Dharavi and Jogeshwari to the sprawling residential complexes and skyscrapers of Colaba and Bandra, Mumbai Saturday erupted into mad celebrations over India’s spectacular victory in the cricket World Cup.
Bands of youth trooped out on the roads, singing and dancing to loud drumbeats in Poisar slums of Kandivli East and Kandarpada in Dahisar West moments after India beat Sri Lanka.
Lakhs of people ran out into the streets singing, dancing, hugging each other, screaming with joy, whistling, lighting crackers and setting off aerial fireworks into the warm night sky after India’s win.
The sound of firecrackers was all that could be heard for the first 10 minutes after the victory. People had, however, started setting off fireworks and beating drums soon after Dhoni hit a boundary in the 47th over, leaving India just seven runs short of victory with more than two overs and six wickets in hand.
Spending thousands of rupees to buy crackers and hiring drummers to celebrate the victory paid off for the city youth who set off fireworks as they rode their bikes full throttle through the city streets.
“I am euphoric. We won, we won, we won. I can’t express the feeling,” said an ecstatic Dattaram Kossambe, an avid cricket fan from suburban Borivli.
An excited Sanjana Narayan said, “This was a long awaited victory and yes we are the world champions. Truly well deserved for the Indian team that worked so hard.”
Ankita Punj from suburban Andheri said: “Dhoni’s devils made India the world champions. He has proved to be an outstanding captain.”
Several cricket enthusiasts bought their friends free drinks after the victory as they watched it on big screens at Mumbai’s pubs, restaurants and sports bars.
Several residential complexes, where the viewing was specially organised on big screens also erupted in victorious cries as India sealed their victory.
Rajnikant Pandya, a retired banker from Vile Parle joined his sons and daughters-in-law for the celebrations though it was a bit late – he usually retires by 10 p.m. – but he made an exception for the big day.
Similarly, a call centre manager Abdullah Qadir in Goregaon decided to take the night off from work to remain with his friends and celebrate India’s victory.
Ecstatic fans flooded the networking sites with messages and sent out several SMSs to their friends, relatives and colleagues soon after the Indian captain hit the winning shot with a six.
The most popular SMS message that started doing rounds was “Anhoni ko honi karde, honi ko anhoni (The impossible becomes possible and vice versa), Ek jagah jab jama ho teeno Rajni (Tamil superstar Rajnikanth) Ghajani (nick name for Bollywood star Aamir Khan after he acted in the film) and Dhoni.”
Rajnikanth and Aamir were in the stadium to watch the final.
Several celebrities used Twitter to express their heartfelt congratulations to Team India.
“MSD (M. S. Dhoni) has been a remarkable captain for India. He has performed consistently. Wish him all the best,” tweeted former Indian Premier League chief Lalit Modi.
Modi, however, also congratulated Sri Lanka for their performance saying: “Congrats to Sri Lanka for a brilliant performance throughout the tournament.”
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated Team India with a tweet that said: “Kudos to team India for the pride they have brought to all of us. Let us keep up this spirit of determination.”