The Indian cricket team arrived here this afternoon to a rousing welcome from cricket administrators and fans at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds, days after winning the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Brisbane.
New Delhi, Mar 6. : The Indian cricket team arrived here this afternoon to a rousing welcome from cricket administrators and fans at the Ferozeshah Kotla grounds, days after winning the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Brisbane.
The stadium is choc-a-bloc with fans who were eager to see their favourite all-conquering cricket stars.
A grand reception and public welcome awaits the team from 4:00 p.m., which arrived from Mumbai on a Kingfisher Airlines chartered flight. Entry to the stadium is free, as there is no open-top bus parade given the problems likely to arise with traffic management in the city.
Within the stadium, the authorities have organised a Bhangra performance to reflect the joy of the occasion.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sharad Pawar has announced that the team led by wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni would get a Rs 10 crore cash award. He also announced a cash reward of Rs 1 crore for the selectors of the Indian Team.
Additional cash awards would also be given to the players at a grand felicitation ceremony.
India beat Australia by a 2-0 margin in the best of three finals at Brisbane on Tuesday.
The tour was marred by many on-field and off-field controversies, which threatened to derail the tour and split the cricket world.
Master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar has overtaken Australian captain Ricky Ponting as No. 1 in the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s one-day international batsmen rankings.
The latest ICC rankings for the ODI batsmen were declared after India's thrilling win in the Commonwealth Bank tri-series against Australia in Sydney.
The last time Australia surrendered back-to-back finals was 1983-84 and 1984-85, against West Indies, and a loss today would be a chastening blow.
ANI