Mumbai, July 4

A sea of blue greeted the victory parade of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team at South Mumbai’s Marine Drive as thousands of passionate fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars, bringing the traffic to a complete standstill.

This (crowd) tells that the desperation we had to win was similar to the desperation which the fans had. The win has brought smiles on faces of crores of people. This trophy belongs to the nation. — Rohit Sharma

The two-hour open bus parade, which was delayed by two hours, started from the National Centre for Performing Arts at Nariman Point at 7:30pm and finished at the Wankhede Stadium.

The distance is covered usually in five minutes but it took more than an hour as the players savoured the evening of their lives all drenched — not in rain but unconditional love from their diehard fans.

Chants of “Mumbaicha Raja Kaun? Rohit Sharma (Who’s the King of Mumbai? Rohit Sharma)” reverberated through the roads. “This (crowd) tells that the desperation we had to win was similar to the desperation which the fans had. The win has brought smiles on faces of crores of people. This is a special team and this trophy belongs to the nation,” Rohit said while addressing the fans inside the stadium.

Emotions run high

Virat Kohli revealed to the packed Wankhede crowd that he had never seen Rohit show “so much emotion” in their decade-and-a-half old association till the India captain hugged him with welled-up eyes after the T20 World Cup triumph.

“This is the first time in 15 years that I have seen Rohit show so much emotion. When we were climbing those steps (at Kensington Oval) he was crying and I was crying,” Kohli said.

On this very ground, a 21-year-old Kohli had seen Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh teary-eyed and soaked in emotions after winning the 2011 World Cup. “I couldn’t connect with the emotions of the senior players who cried that night but now I do,” he said.

Earlier, the team could only fly from New Delhi around 3:40pm after their meeting with the PM. The Wankhede Stadium here was thrown open to fans, who filled up the stands within minutes to celebrate the team’s title triumph.

After landing in the city, their aircraft got the famous ‘Water Salute’ at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s Terminal 2.

The players walked out of the airport with a horde of fans and media waiting for them for several hours.