What a game this has been. Went right down to the wire. Can’t ask for more from a grand final. The crowd erupts as the Indian support staff, coaching staff and remaining squad members charge onto the field.
The Indian players do a lap of honour as the Indian flags in the stands are waved. The players go towards the stands and pick up a couple of flags … almost every one has a flag now as they do a lap around the ground.
The celebrations are still on as the Indians run around on the outfield. Disappointment for Pakistan but they’ve put in a real good show here. Misbah held his cool till the end, only making one mistake, trying to be a bit too cute in the end.
The organisers bring the trophy out onto the field as the Indians and Pakistanis congratulate each other. A brief moment of calm and the Indians are again celebrating on the outfield. Dhoni gives his shirt away to a young fan and is walking around bare-chested as Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, comes around to offer his congratulations.
Stay with us and we’ll bring you the post-match presentations just as soon as they get under way.
The players now make their way out to the middle from the dug-outs as it’s time for the post-match presentation ceremony to begin. The Pakistanis are disappointed, desperately so, you can see it on their faces, and the Indians are elated.
The victors and the vanquished congratulate each other. Both teams were unfancied as the tournament began. Now they’ve played out a dramatic final where India’s just about come out on top …
The presentation begins and it is the match officials who come up first to collect their medallions – the umpires and the match referees.
The Pakistani players then come on stage, in alphabetical order, to receive their medals.
Shoaib Malik “First of all I’d like to thank people back home and the Muslims around the world. We gave our 100%,” he says. “India have a strong batting line-up. We did well to restrict them to less than 160 but our batting didn’t come through. The Indians bowled really well and we played some bad shots. That’s why we ended up on the losing side in this game.”
The Man of the Match award goes to Irfan Pathan who says: “It’s a great comeback for me. I held my nerve and bowled in the right areas. The pitch was a bit on the slower side. It gripped a bit when I bowled slower balls. I tried to mix up the pace and keep things tight. In the end it could have gone any way. The bowlers all did really well when Misbah was batting well. We played as a team and we won.”
The Player of the Tournament award goes to Shahid Afridi who says: “Winning and losing is part of it. But we played really good cricket. Congratulations to the Indian captain and the whole team. I struggled a bit with my batting but I concentrated on my bowling.”
Mahendra Singh Dhoni “It’s one of the things I will treasure for the rest of my life. I’d like to congratulate the boys and thank them for the response they have given me. No-one expected us to win and the way we played today we deserve a big celebration. Pakistan bowled really well today in the second half. But we knew we had runs on the board and we could bring some pressure on the batsmen. Bhajji was not 100% sure of getting yorkers in the death. I thought I should throw the ball to someone who really wants to well in international cricket. Jogi did a really good job.”
The fireworks go off and the Indians celebrate wildly on the podium. New has just come in that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced a bonus of US$ 2 million for the team and a bonus of Rs 1 crore to Yuvraj Singh for his achievement of hitting six sixes in one over.
shibu 2.0 