Mumbai halts to salute Team India's Victory Parade

Mumbai, NT Bureau: An ocean of humanity 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 traffic to a complete standstill.

The two-hour open bus parade, which was delayed by two hours, started from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) at Nariman Point at 7:30 pm and continued till 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 unadulterated love from their die-hard fans.

I couldn't connect with emotions of seniors who cried that night (after 2011 World Cup triumph) but now I do. —Virat Kohli

In 2007, Rohit Sharma was the youngest member of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's epoch-making squad and now at 37, for him to lead his T20 World Champion Indian cricket team on a victory parade must have given him a sense of deja vu.

He is now the oldest member of the current team, 'been there and done that' and even as the faces around him changed, the Indian T20 skipper remained a constant in all these years. As the bus passed through the sea of humans, his mind must have travelled back to that September morning in 2007 when Mumbai was as drenched as it was on Thursday evening.

Chants of "Mumbaicha Raja Kaun? Rohit Sharma" (Who's the King of Mumbai? Rohit Sharma) reverberated on the roads.

"This (crowd) tells us that the desperation we had to win was similar to the desperation the fans had. The win has brought smiles on the faces of crores. This is a special team and this trophy belongs to the nation," Rohit said while addressing fans.

This is the first time in 15 years that I have seen Rohit show so much emotion. —Kohli after victory parade

Then there was Hardik Pandya, who probably found organic acceptance, after a stellar T20 World Cup campaign as he was the first to lift the trophy and show it to the fans. The once jeered 'Mumbai Indian' was the cheered 'Indian' in Mumbai. The 'Maximum City' was ready to shower 'Maximum Love' on the colourful 'Baroda Bomber', who has made Mumbai his home.

He craved for validation and Mumbaikar were now ready to embrace him. May be the those drops from the heaven were Mumbai's collective apology for being boorish towards Pandya. The players lapped up the frenzy in a nation that loves its cricketers way more than the game itself.

A glimpse of Virat Kohli was what many would have longed for. 'Bekararon ki Dawa Ek Nazar, Ek Nazar', Majrooh Sultanpuri would have penned for all those who travelled from Virar to Thane to just feel the pulse.

I am going to miss this love. What I saw on streets tonight, I won' forget it. —Outgoing India coach Rahul Dravid after victory parade