Team India Shares Victory Moment With PM Modi, All Beaming Faces Captured in Frame

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hosted the victorious team India, including the players and the Rahul Dravid-led support staff, for a special breakfast at his residence in New Delhi. 

The Rohit Sharma-led team India won the T20 World Cup for the second time at the Kensington Oval in Barbados after defeating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final. 

After meeting with PM Modi, the team India was escorted back to the IGI Airport from where they will head to Mumbai for a victory parade later in the day.

A sea of people were present to give a rousing welcome to the world champions when they landed at Delhi Airport this morning. Virat Kohli, the former India team captain, waved to the fans, acknowledging their support.

Notably, the ‘Men in Blue’ were left stranded in Barbados for four days after winning the World Champions title with the airport closure due to Hurricane Beryl. Once the weather improved, a special Air India chartered flight was sent to Barbados to bring the World Champions back home.

India's Victory Parade

Following a special meet-up with the PM, the team will fly to Mumbai for a special road show for the cricketing fans starting from Nariman Point to the Wankhede Stadium where the entire team will be honoured.

Notably, the Indian cricket team will today take out the open-bus parade like they did 17 years ago after the team under the captaincy of MS Dhoni clinched the inaugural T20 World Cup. 

In the 2007 parade, the team took six hours to reach the Wankhede Stadium from the Mumbai Airport as they were cheered on by a sea of people. Given the players are jet-lagged following their 15-hour flight from Barbados to Delhi and then on to Mumbai, this time the parade route has been kept short. 

Taking to X, the team India captain expressed his excitement about bringing back the T20 World Cup trophy back home. “We want to enjoy this special moment with all of you. So let’s celebrate this win with a victory parade at Marine Drive & Wankhede on July 4th from 5:00 pm onwards. It’s coming home,” Rohit posted on X.

Team India's Heroic Inning Against SA

The journey to win the World Cup title was never easy as the T20 World Cup finals between India and South Africa witnessed several moments that triggered cold feet for Indian cricket fans. 

Team India defeated South Africa in the T20 World Cup final by seven runs, ending the 11-year-long wait for an ICC trophy in men's cricket. Rohit Sharma became the second captain after MS Dhoni to win the title. 

India decided to bat first and posted 176 in the big final against the undefended South Africa camp. Virat Kohli top-scored with 76 after which the bowlers, especially the pacers including Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, led the show. 

South Africa was zooming ahead at one point, needing just 30 of 30. However, Jasprit Bumrah stepped up and delivered a miserly spell at the death to deliver the victory for India.