Kohli Cries, SKY Rejoices as Mumbai Honors Team India: How does being Rohit Sharma tonight feel? to experience his name echoing in Wankhede Stadium with the same cadence as “Sachin, Sachin!” to be greeted with a standing ovation by his fellow T20 World Cup winners.
or to possess Virat Kohli. The fans’ screams on the spot where he carried Sachin Tendulkar 13 years ago were enough to bring tears to Kohli’s eyes.
or perhaps Pandya Hardik. Just three months ago, the Mumbai Indians were booed mercilessly in blue. They sang his name nonstop this evening. Pandya waved back, grinning, as if the two were closing the chapter on one another. All was forgotten and forgiven.
Simply expressed, imagine what it would be like to be one of the Men in Blue. The entire world was at their feet, with thousands of people crammed into the stands of Wankhede Stadium, the venue of both their 2011 World Cup victory and the 2007 T20 World Cup winning team’s corresponding celebration, with lakhs of people waiting in line for them on the streets of Mumbai.
“This title is for the country,” Rohit exclaimed, energising the assembly. He turned to face them and said, “Mumbai never lets you down.”
“Bringing the trophy back to Wankhede is a very special feeling,” agreed Kohli.
India’s triumph parade almost saw rain. But even the heavens, which opened and closed at different times, cooperated when the time arrived.
On a typical day, it takes about seven minutes to travel the 1.7 km to Wankhede Stadium from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA). The Team India open-top bus wound its way past the throng of people gathering on South Mumbai’s streets for about two hours on Thursday.
The fans had been waiting impatiently for about five hours, and when they eventually got at Wankhede, it was approximately 8:30 pm. This put them into a state of insanity.
Everywhere you turned on this night of sentimentality, feelings, and never-ending private festivities, there were symbolically rich stories.
“King” Kohli led “Mumbaicha Raja” Rohit in a dance to dhol sounds to kick off the celebration. With the trophy in their hands, the two walked side by side as the emotional event came to a close.
A short minutes before, Rohit was sitting by himself at the rear of the van, relishing every moment, while Kohli had strolled by his teammates. Taking him by the arm, Kohli pushed Rohit forward to go with him. Once there, the two, whose careers have been the focus of numerous dressing-room rumours, laughed, high-fived, and shared the trophy.
There was no more fitting farewell for the heroes quitting the T20 format.
For Rohit, too, this was a moment of wonderful redemption. The extent of his disappointment at not being included in the World Cup team that won the title on this pitch in 2011 is well known. In fact, he participated in a comparable procession in 2007 that ended at Wankhede just like it did on Thursday.
That was when Rohit was just a cub. like the current Shivam Dube. Shivam Dube, then 14 years old, first saw Rohit on the open-top bus in 2007. That encounter stoked his desire to succeed in life. His 27-run knock in the final on Saturday was comparable to Rohit’s thirty-seven years earlier, both in terms of nature and significance.
Dube spent a considerable amount of time following another Mumbaikar, Surya Kumar Yadav, whose catch will go down as one of the most memorable in Indian sports history.
Yadav chuckled about the quiet that greeted them in Barbados the morning after the victory in an interview with The Indian Express. “Once we get to India, we’ll feel like we’re the only ones there,” he remarked.
Perhaps now SKY would be craving some sannata. For in a short period of time, their festivities had gone from 0 to 100.
Early on Thursday morning, the players were transported from Barbados to the New Delhi airport by a specially scheduled Air India flight. Their final few hours of tranquilly before the pandemonium started were those spent on the lengthy flight.
After being accosted at the airport, they were driven to a hotel in the heart of Delhi, where they were met by yet another mob. After being welcomed and showered with flowers at the hotel, they were invited to cut cakes and change into their India blues in preparation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s breakfast.
They were greeted on the runway of the airport upon their delayed trip to Mumbai with a water cannon salute. The victory parade started exactly thirteen hours after they landed in Delhi.
Meanwhile, at the Wankhede, the crowd had begun to thin out. The stadium’s conditions weren’t the best for spectators. However, it’s not exactly one of the most fan-friendly locations—the most romanticised stadium in India.
They had survived a stampede-like situation, sunshine, humidity, rain, and three hours of waiting for the world champions on Thursday. Once inside the stands, they were seated on dusty seats with restricted access to restrooms and no water for most of the time.
The energy never decreased, though. Packed to capacity, the supporters cheered, danced, waved the flag of their country, and screamed the names of their favourite players. For these staunch fans of Team India, the wait for this trophy was almost as painful as it was for the players.
As befitted, the captain’s heartfelt salute and bow to the supporters marked the end of the historic evening.
