Among the many significant developments that came in the immediate aftermath of India’s thrilling win over South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup was the retirement of Virat Kohli from the shortest format of the game in international cricket. Kohli bailed India out of a shaky start by scoring 76 off 59 balls in Barbados after struggling to get any kind of form throughout the tournament. He started the presentation ceremony by saying that this was his last T20 World Cup match and then said that this was his last T20I altogether.
Kohli was among the central figures in India’s victory parade and made sure that he got himself clicked with the coveted trophy with captain and longtime teammate Rohit Sharma quite a few times on the open bus parade that went through the iconic Marine Drive in Mumbai. The parade and the felicitation ceremony was the conclusion of a ridiculously busy day of celebrations for the Indian team. However, Kohli managed to spend some time with his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma amidst all of the activities.
“From your first practice to your incredible success, you’ve always made me proud @virat.kohli . Keep going strong beta #viratkohli #proud #indiancricketteam #indiancricket,” said Sharma in his post on Instagram.
A post shared by Rajkumar Sharma (@rajkumarcricket)
They arrived in Delhi from Barbados after a 15-hour flight in the wee hours of Thursday and spent hardly any time in the hotel before they travelled to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg to have breakfast with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. From there they went back to Delhi airport and caught a flight to Mumbai. They then travelled 15km from Terminal 2 of Mumbai airport to Nariman Point from where the open top bus parade began through a packed Marine Drive. It took one and a half hours to cover what is otherwise hardly a 10-minute drive for the bus to go from Nariman Point to Wankhede Stadium, where the team was felicitated.
An ocean of humanity greeted the victory parade of the T20 World Cup winning Indian team in South Mumbai’s Marine Drive as thousands of passionate fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars, bringing the traffic to a complete standstill.
The open bus parade, which was delayed by more than a couple of hours, started from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Nariman Point post 7:30pm and went till the Wankhede Stadium. The players savoured the evening of their lives all drenched — not in rain but unadulterated love from their die-hard fans.
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