The Indian national team has won the World Cup after 13 years. The long wait of the fans has finally come to an end and they have gathered in large numbers in Mumbai to greet their heroes. The fans have gathered at the airport, Marine Drive and Wankhede Stadium. The players have arrived at the airport and are now heading to Nariman Point where they will start a victory parade in an open double-decker bus to Wankhede Stadium. An award ceremony will be organized at the stadium. Entry to the stadium will be free so that the fans can see their World Cup winning idols.
Intermittent rain and overcast skies brought the maximum temperature in Delhi down to 31.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday, six degrees below normal. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rains in Delhi for the next four to five days. The capital city saw rain early in the morning: Safdarjung, the city's main weather station, recorded 0.6 mm of rain, Lodhi Road 0.6 mm, while Palam Observatory recorded 2.1 mm between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. The maximum temperature in Delhi was 31.7 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 24.8 degrees Celsius, the weather department said. Relative humidity fluctuated between 77 and 100 percent, according to the IMD weather bulletin.
Harkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren has taken oath as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, a day after senior JMM leader Champai Soren resigned from the top post. Earlier, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan had invited Soren to form the government.
The bodies of all the victims of the Hathras stampede have been identified and handed over to their families, District Magistrate Ashish Kumar said. A total of 121 people, mostly women, died and 31 were injured in the stampede at preacher Baba Bhole's satsang in Hathras on Tuesday. After the stampede, 21 bodies were taken to Agra, 28 to Etah, 34 to Hathras and 38 to Aligarh.
The ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian team landed in Delhi on Thursday to a warm welcome from fans waiting to see their favourite heroes and the trophy. The team members, support staff, their families and the media were stuck in Barbados, which was hit by Hurricane Beryl, which was a Category 4 hurricane at the time and passed through Barbados. The Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown was closed for three days.
The flight was organised by Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It departed on July 2 and arrived in Delhi at around 6:00 am on Thursday morning. Also on board the flight were board members and members of the tournament's media group.
As the Indian players landed at their airports, they were greeted with loud cheers from the fans, who chanted “India India” at the top of their lungs, while some also shouted the names of their favourite players when they saw them. The Men in Blue also thanked their fans for their support and waved to them after boarding the team bus that headed to the ITC Maurya Hotel, where the team will stay overnight.
India ended a 13-year ICC trophy drought with a win in the final, defeating South Africa by seven runs on Saturday. Virat Kohli's 76 helped India to 176/7, while Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) helped India restrict Proteas to 169/8 despite Heinrich Klaasen's 52 in just 27 balls. Bumrah, who took 15 scalps during the tournament at an astonishing economy rate of 4.17, was named the 'Player of the Tournament'.
From the hotel, the Indian team proceeded to the ITC Maurya Hotel where they would stay until their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Notably, Virat, Rohit, Hardik and head coach Rahul Dravid were spotted at the hotel.
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