NEW DELHI: Thousands gathered inside Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium and sang '
Vande Mataram
' during Team India's
T20 World Cup
victory parade. India clinched their second T20 World Cup title by defeating South Africa in the thrilling final, prompting
Rohit Sharma
and his team to embark on a victory lap at Wankhede Stadium, expressing heartfelt gratitude to the crowd for their unwavering support.
Amid the celebrations,
Virat Kohli
, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and the entire Indian team joined in singing 'Vande Mataram' with the enthusiastic crowd.
The atmosphere echoed the iconic 2011 ODI World Cup final, where chants of the same anthem accompanied MS Dhoni's match-winning six against Sri Lanka.
The parade, commencing from Nariman Point and culminating at Wankhede Stadium, caused traffic to halt as thousands lined the streets to catch glimpses of their cricketing heroes.
For Rohit, who debuted as the youngest member of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's historic 2007 squad, leading his own T20 World Champion Indian cricket team on a victory lap at age 37 was a surreal experience.
Before the victory lap, a viral video on social media captured Virat Kohli instructing Team India players to join in singing 'Vande Mataram' with the crowd. This sparked speculation about whether it was Kohli's initiative to include the anthem during the victory celebrations.
WATCH:
The BCCI honored the Men in Blue with a prize money of Rs 125 crore for their victorious campaign in the T20 World Cup.
Following their monumental contributions to India's second T20 World Cup triumph, skipper Rohit Sharma and superstar Virat Kohli announced their retirements from T20 Internationals.
Kohli, awarded player of the match for his sublime 76 in the final against South Africa, was the first to announce his decision, followed shortly by Rohit, who stated that having achieved his goals, it was time to step aside.
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