Who would have thought India's World Cup triumph would resonate across Central Asia?
Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the delegation-level talks in Astana on Saturday morning, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev saluted 'India's great victory in the World Cup' in his opening remarks, leading to beaming faces in the Indian delegation.
It was not the first time that Dr Singh was being congratulated on his current visit to China and Kazakhstan.
On Thursday, South African President Jacob Zuma hailed India's World Cup win, telling the prime minister that he was sure India would win the World Cup after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and 'his boys beat Graeme Smith's team.'
Zuma is a charismatic leader unafraid of taking risks -- a couple of days before he arrived at the BRICS summit in Sanya, southern China, he had traveled to Tripoli to meet with besieged Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Either his officials didn't brief him well or Zuma didn't follow the World Cup.
India, in fact, lost to South Africa, the team's only loss in the World Cup.