MUMBAI: A sea of humanity as far as one could see descended to greet India's T20 World Cup-winning team here on Thursday evening. Tens of thousands of Mumbaikars thronged South Mumbai's Marine Drive during the team India's open bus victory parade and moved along with the 'Men in Blue' along the 1.8-km long route from Nariman Point to the Wankhede Stadium to celebrate the joy as the World Cup came to India after a gap of 17 years after 2007.

The turnaround was so high that there was hardly any space left on the six-lane Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road along the Marine Drive promenade. The World Cup-winning team led by Captain Rohit Sharma was seen punching in the skies often, hugging his co-players, including Rajeev Shukla, Hardik Pandya, Surya Kumar and others and accompanied by Coach Rahul Dravid and The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah as the fans waved the Indian Tricolour and chanted slogans like ‘We Love You, Team India’, ‘Team India Zindabad’, ‘Mumbaicha Raja, Rohit Sharma’.

Much before the team members landed from Delhi, thousands of people had gathered outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and fans gathered on the entire stretch of road from the airport to Nariman Point and thousands of them poured in for the victory lap that soon swelled into lakhs, lining on both sides of the road. The mood of the people was as bright as the skies were blue with dark monsoon clouds threatening to bathe the crowds anytime. Fortunately, there were only intermittent light showers that did not dampen the fan's spirit.

Later at the Wankhede Stadium speaking during the 2024 victory celebrations, Sharma credited Hardik Pandya for the title win that saw some emotional moments with Panday in tears. The captain said that Pandya's ability to remain cool and calm helped India dismiss David Miller, who the side considered one of the most dangerous players in the world.