There were tears and hugs all-around at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, after India won the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday, beating South Africa by seven runs in the final and ending a 11-year wait for a global title.
Relief was written large on the faces of most of the Indian players who were in tears after the match, which was a fitting finale for three stalwarts of the team.
Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma announced their retirements from T20 Internationals after the match while Head Coach Rahul Dravid held the trophy and screamed in a rare show of emotion at the end of his spell in charge of the national side.
Rohit lay on the Kensington Oval ground, his chest facing the ground, perhaps thanking the Almighty for prayers answered after "all those years and hard work" that yielded a result so desperately sought.
He lost two World Cup finals and was close to losing another high-pressure game, but this time he finished on the winning side with players he believed in.
India’s head coach also had much to celebrate. He could not win a World Cup as a player but on the concluding day of his assignment as India coach, Dravid finally laid his hands on a World Cup trophy.
Someone who has hidden his emotions all these years, he allowed himself to be swept away, pumping his fists in the air, shouting 'Come on!'. It was a rare sight.
Pandya has gone through a lot in his personal and professional life over the last few months. Being booed by the fans for replacing the much-loved Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians skipper, he copped a lot of unfair flak.
Then there were unconfirmed reports of his marriage falling apart. He underwent a lot. On Saturday, when handed the ball to defend 16 runs in the last over, he could have walked out either as a hero or villain.
It was the moment to win back fans, and he did that with aplomb. It was just natural that he couldn't hold back the tears of joy.
Rohit placed a hard kiss on Pandya’s cheek in the middle of his interview with the official broadcaster. These were rare and incredible scenes.
In complete contrast, Miller hung his head while resting his arms on the billboards on the fence.
He could have steered South Africa to the greatest victory in their cricket history but his shot off Pandya off the first ball of the last over, soaring high, was taken by a Suryakumar Yadav stunner on the boundary ropes.
Who knows, had Miller had found the boundary off that delivery, the Proteas would have shed the unwanted tag of 'chokers'.
