UP Police Give 'Life Term' to Team India After T20 World Cup Triumph Over South Africa

The Uttar Pradesh police also joined the rest of cricket-crazy India in posting congratulatory messages for Rohit Sharma’s T20 World Cup-winning team on Saturday, but with a twist.

The social media handle of the police force on X, formerly Twitter, said it has pronounced a “sentence” against “Indian bowlers” after finding them “guilty of breaking South African hearts”. And, the sentence is “lifelong love from a billion fans”.

“Breaking News: Indian bowlers found guilty of breaking South African hearts. Sentence: Lifelong love from a billion fans!” the UP Police said on X.

Celebrations erupted late in the night across the country as India won the T20 World Cup, with fans flooding the streets carrying the Tricolour in their hands. Chants of ‘India, India’ reverberated in the air as crowds gathered in different parts of the country to cheer for the “Men in blue”. Whether it was Jammu, Hyderabad, Patna or Pune, people were seen hugging and dancing as the 13-year wait for a world title ended for crores of cricket fans.

Taking to X soon after India defeated South Africa in a nail-biter in Barbados, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the team has won the hearts of crores of Indians. “CHAMPIONS! Our team brings the T20 World Cup home in STYLE! We are proud of the Indian Cricket Team,” he said on X, calling the match historic.

As soon as the match ended in Barbados around 11.30 pm IST, joyous fans flooded the streets and burst firecrackers, with celebrations running long after midnight. In Delhi, a large number of people gathered to celebrate at the iconic India Gate monument.

At Mumbai airport, fans were spotted dancing to the drumbeats and, out on roads, many climbed atop vehicles. Streets in Kolkata were lit with firecrackers and shouts and whistles while, in Bengaluru, many fans wearing the Team India attire were seen dancing in pubs and outside eateries.

In Jammu, young and old celebrated with fireworks and chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ while euphoric scenes were witnessed outside the state secretariat in Hyderabad as fireworks dazzled the sky. People climbed on top trucks, cars, and other vehicles that honked cheerily.

Many praised the contribution of all players of Team India and coach Rahul Dravid. In an emotional message on X, one of cricket’s greatest icons Sachin Tendulkar said, “Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation’s starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in @T20WorldCup. Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World Cup to becoming a cricketing powerhouse and winning the T20WC in 2024. Very happy for my friend Rahul Dravid, who missed out on the 2011 World Cup win but his contribution to this T20 World Cup victory has been immense. I am so so happy for him…. It was wonderful to see Team India excel under the guidance of this class of ’96. A total team effort. Hearty congratulations to all the players, coaches, support staff, and @BCCI,” he said.

Team India dances the night away

While back at the Kensington Oval, the triumphant Indian team’s celebrations lasted close to four hours with players grooving to their favourite dance numbers. Even the usually reticent coach Rahul Dravid was spotted letting his hair down.

The euphoria carried on in the team hotel but before that, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who both retired from T20 internationals, and Dravid let their emotions take control after a gruelling month-long campaign in the Caribbean and USA.

There are memorable visuals of them holding the desperately desired trophy with the Indian flag around them. What followed was bhangra with the boys in the middle with Kohli, Arshdeep, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Rinku Singh grooving to Daler Mehndi’s iconic Punjabi number ‘Tunak tunak tun’.

(With PTI inputs)