A night of celebrations in cricket-crazy India after T20 WC win

MUMBAI: Celebrations erupted Saturday night across cricket-crazy India as its team won the T20 World Cup, with fans flooding the streets carrying the tricolour in their hands.

Chants of 'India, India' reverberated in the air as crowds gathered at city centres in different parts of the country to cheer for the ''Men in blue".

Whether it was Jammu, Hyderabad, Patna or Pune, people were seen hugging and dancing as the nation's 13-year wait for a world title ended for crores of fans of cricket, who religiously follow the game and idolise its players.

Taking to X soon after India defeated South Africa in a nail-biter in Barbados, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the cricketers have won the hearts of crores of Indians.

"CHAMPIONS! Our team brings the T20 World Cup home in STYLE! We are proud of the Indian Cricket Team," he said on X, calling the match historic.

As soon as the match ended in Barbados at around 11.30 PM IST, joyous fans flooded the streets and burst firecrackers as the cricket-loving nation revelled in the glory, with celebrations continuing for hours after midnight.

In Delhi, a large number of people gathered at India Gate to celebrate the occasion.

At Mumbai airport, fans were seen dancing to the beats of drums, and out on roads, many revellers climbed atop vehicles. Streets in Kolkata were lit with firecrackers and shouts and whistles of irrepressible fans. In Bengaluru, many fans wearing Team India's attire were seen dancing in pubs and outside eateries.

Social media was flooded with congratulatory messages and images of celebratory scenes as the star-studded Indian team outwitted South Africa by seven runs in a see-saw final that went down to the wire.

"We are very ecstatic. I was a child when we last won. My throat is sore from shouting but we will celebrate for two days," a cricket fan told PTI.

In Jammu, young and old celebrated with fireworks and chants of ''Bharat Mata ki Jai". "The whole country is celebrating. It is like a Diwali for us," said a reveller.

Euphoric scenes were witnessed outside the state secretariat in Hyderabad as fireworks dazzled the sky. People climbed on top trucks, cars, and other vehicles which honked cheerily.

Many praised the contribution of all players of Team India and coach Rahul Dravid.

In an emotional message on X, one of cricket's greatest icons Sachin Tendulkar said, "Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation's starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in @T20WorldCup.

"Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World Cup to becoming a cricketing powerhouse and winning the T20WC in 2024. Very happy for my friend Rahul Dravid, who missed out on the 2011 World Cup win but his contribution to this T20 World Cup victory has been immense. I am so so happy for him....

"It was wonderful to see Team India excel under the guidance of this class of '96. A total team effort. Hearty congratulations to all the players, coaches, support staff, and @BCCI," he said.