Thousands of fans braved rains to give a rousing welcome to
the Indian cricket team which arrived in the western city of Mumbai on
September 26 after recording a historic win in the Twenty20 World
Championships.
The team members, led out of the airport by captain Mahendra
Singh Dhoni with the trophy in his hand, were received by Sharad Pawar,
chief of Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) and Vilasrao Deshmukh,
the regional chief minister.
The celebrations began soon after the airport authorities
announced the arrival of the flight carrying the team from the
tournament in South Africa, sending scores of fans into a frenzy.
People cheered wildly, beat drums and showered flowers on
their cricket heroes. Others waved Indian flags and jostled with each
other to catch a glimpse of the players.
Soon after, the cricketers were taken to an open-top bus for
a 30-kilometre victory parade followed by a reception hosted by the BCCI
at the Wankhede Stadium in the city.
Heavy rains since the previous night had failed to dampen the
spirit of the fans and the cricketers.
Many fans burst crackers and danced as musicians performed on
streets while the victory procession wound through Mumbai.
Team members, Yuvraj Singh and S Sreesanth, stars of some
sensational Indian wins in the tournament, broke into impromptu jigs on
the bus.
Tight security arrangements had been made for the victory
parade. Additional police was deployed and the security personnel had a
tough time in keeping the surging crowds in check.
"The young heroes have made India proud, it's a great
feeling. All of India is on a big high because of the triumph,"
Hemant Borkar, a company executive told reporters.
The Indian cricketers beat arch-rivals Pakistan by five runs
in a nail-biting final in Johannesburg on Monday, the first major
cricket triumph for the Indian cricket team after a World Cup win in
1983.
The Indian cricket board has announced a bonus of two million
dollars and a 250,000-dollar prize to Yuvraj Singh for setting a record
of six sixes in one over in a match against England.
[Source:
DPA]
