Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya's powerful rendition of 'Vande Mataram' with packed Wankhede crowd will give goosebumps
The video of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya singing 'Vande Mataram' garnered almost two million views on social media.
The Rohit Sharma-led Team India, who were felicitated at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday for beating South Africa last week in Barbados to lift the T20 World Cup for the second time in history, got a taste of what MS Dhoni and his men felt at the iconic venue moments before their ODI World Cup win in 2011 against Sri Lanka as the members of the current side vibed with the crowd in singing AR Rahman’s famous song ‘Maa Tujhe Salam’.
In 2011, during the ODI World Cup final in Mumbai, when India were on the verge of ending their 28-year-long wait for a world title in the match against Sri Lanka, the Wankhede crowd began singing ‘Maa Tujhe Salam’ in unison. The video of it makes rounds on social media to date.
On Thursday, Rohit and his men experienced it during his lap of honour at the Wankhede Stadium with Virat Kohli, the only player to be part of both the World Cup-winning side, putting up a powerful rendition of the song along with Hardik Pandya.
The video was shared by BCCI with the caption: ‘Vande Mataram,’ and it garnered almost two million views on social media.
After being stranded in Barbados owing to Hurricane Beryl, Team India finally landed in New Delhi early Thursday on a charter flight from Barbados and later met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence. They then left for Mumbai where tens of thousands of jubilant fans poured onto Marine Drive to cheer for the newly-crowned T20 world champions.
Captain Rohit and his deputy Hardik held the coveted trophy in an open bus convoy to Wankhede stadium, where the team later participated in celebrations organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Fans danced, waved the India flag, and flashed smartphone lights after waiting for hours to glimpse Sharma, Virat Kohli and the other cricket stars.
The T20 World Cup win was India's maiden ICC trophy in 11 years, a first world title in 13 years and a first championship win in the format in 17 years. The BCCI had announced a cash bonus of INR 125 crore for the winning squad.
