Thousands thronged Mumbai’s Marine Drive and the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday evening, eagerly awaiting the Indian team’s open-top bus parade and T20 World Cup triumph. But the team’s arrival in Mumbai from Delhi was delayed, and the bus parade in South Mumbai was further delayed by the huge crowds, creating logistical problems. The parade eventually started two hours later than scheduled, but neither the chaos on the busy roads nor the rain deterred the fans.
“The open bus parade, which was delayed by two hours, began at 7.30 pm from the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) at Nariman Point and continued to the Wankhede Stadium,” PTI reported. “The distance is usually completed within five minutes, but it took over an hour as the players enjoyed their evening.
“The team reached the city just after 5 pm local time. According to the schedule shared by the officials, the open bus parade was scheduled to last for two hours, from 5 pm to 7 pm. However, it was learnt that the team could leave New Delhi only by 3.42 pm.” The journey from Delhi to Mumbai usually takes two hours and 10 minutes.
The team arrived in Delhi on a chartered flight from Bridgetown, Barbados at 6am. They had to stay in the West Indies longer than expected due to the airport being closed due to Hurricane Beryl. After arriving in Delhi, the team was taken to their hotel and met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi late in the morning for breakfast.
It was a great meeting with the champions!
Welcoming the World Cup winners to LKM 7, we had a memorable chat about their experiences during the tournament. pic.twitter.com/roqhyQRTnn
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 4, 2024
The evening was reserved for meeting and celebrating with fans, but there was a long delay before the celebrations could begin as thousands of people lined the streets to the stadium and Mumbai’s evening rain added logistical complications. Eventually, the Wankhede gates were closed and the stadium was filled to capacity, with intermittent but heavy rain following.
“Intermittent rain, extreme humidity and chaos reigned as thousands of people arrived nearby, and those who found shelter inside Wankhede were forced to sit there despite shortages of food and water,” PTI reported.
“While fans were running around in all directions… and in the pouring rain, several pairs of shoes were left behind in the crowd.
“The rain poured down relentlessly while we waited, but it couldn’t force the fans to get up from their seats in the stadium.”
The team finally reached the stadium at around 9 pm, and there were speeches by captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and coach Rahul Dravid. There was also a lap of honour.
