Updates from Wankhede: World Cup fever grips Mumbai

WE DID IT! So cool to be one of the voices screaming as that ball fell beyond the boundary ropes: INDIA! INDIA!

People broke the barricades and ran towards the team. It took what seemed like five minutes for the police to swing into action. It was the old Cadbury ad, relived by many!

But to begin at the beginning, on Saturday every single Indian woke up with enthusiasm and a sense of patriotism only evoked by the religion that binds this diverse country together — cricket.

Team DNA decided to get infected by this fever that has gripped the country on a historic day when Team India was all set to play at the renovated Wankhede Stadium. All roads in Mumbai led to the stadium.

Because of the ambiguity about the parking situation and traffic jams caused by nakabandis (police checkpoints) and tight security checks, many fans preferred to take the lifeline of Mumbai, the suburban trains.

As a consequence, the trains were packed with people sporting all shades of blue except for the royal blue that represents our rival in this contest for the ultimate cricket honour.

Vipul Patel, 38, a businessman from the US, had no option but to buy tickets in the black market. He and his friend Raj Kumar had attended the two previous World Cups together. They said in unison, "We got to see the India-Pakistan match and it was worth our money."

The queues at the various gates seemed to overflow into the lanes and bylanes around the stadium. While fans waited to get into the stadium, there were various young entrepreneurs selling whistles, Indian flags, fan T-shirts, hair wigs and other paraphernalia.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that there were even some touts trying to sell fake tickets. Not only that, one Sushil Desai from Ratnagiri, who coughed up Rs15,000 per ticket for his family, was in the queue and decided to sell his extra ticket to a fellow cricket fan. In the process, his other four tickets got flicked. But the spirit of cricket got other people to persuade them that they would know their lost ticket seat numbers and find the pickpockets and report them. Phew! All for the love of cricket.

Pravin Mhatre, 23, who works with Tata Consultancy Services, registered for tickets online. He vowed to dance all night if India won the World Cup.

Suresh Mudaliyar, 24, a merchant navy officer from Vikhroli,  said he was lucky to be in Bombay during this epic battle for the World Cup.

"Poori Indian team ka jashan manayenge! 1983 World Cup was on April 2,. Saturday. World Cup hamara hai," the die-hard fans cried, little remembering that the 1983 final was played on June 25.

The whole stadium was cheering with just a glimpse at the practising Men in Blue when the two captains walked onto the ground. The stadium moaned as Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat.

Celebrities like Nita Ambani, Aamir Khan and Shashi Tharoor were all out there cheering for Team India. So was superstar Rajinikant. With all the Rajini jokes doing the rounds, his presence just reinforced India's chances of lifting the Cup. Meanwhile, other celebrities present joined the crowd in performing Mexican waves to cheer the boys.

The stadium quickly ran out of mineral water and only warm Pepsi was available. Long queues for soft drinks got fans frustrated beyond belief.

When the first innings got over, Indian fans buckled up to see their superstars chase down the target of 275 runs set by the Lankans.

Oddly, when the sun went down, chilled Pepsi finally became available and fans rushed to quench their thirst.

An Australian contingent wearing Aussie jerseys was in the stadium. Not pledging their support to either Sri Lanka or India, the cricket buffs said they were there simply because they had the tickets. Obviously they had thought Australia would make their fourth successive final. Some overconfidence, that!

A few South Africans were seen cheering India. "After South Africa, India has been our favourite to lift the World Cup," they said.

On the other hand, an Indian, Sairaj Dhond, 22, was sporting a Lankan jersey. Asked why, he said, "The jersey I wear is the team that loses." Dhond carried an Indian jersey as well, to wear after India won the match. So much devotion for the country!

After a break, India began their run chase. When Sachin Tendulkar fell soon after Virender Sehwag departed, you could sense the energy level in the stadium going down. Some reassuring cheers followed, but clearly many were upset over the early fall of the two most important guys.

An April Fool's SMS doing the rounds seemed to have come at least partially true. The joke, which management student Kevin Kothari, 22, received, said Sehwag would score a blob and was paid Rs23 crore for his effort. Crazy speculation.

Gradually Gautam Gambhir revived the crowd. Even singles were cheered lustily.

What we did not like, though, was the constant booing and some of the degrading slogans being shouted against the Sri Lankans, especially Lasith Malinga.

An aside: Overheard in the stadium: which side of the flag is up, orange or green?

After the famous victory, as a suburban train packed with spectators who had spilled out of the Wankhede began pulling out of Churchgate, the entire station erupted in loud cheers for India.