Celebrations spilled over to another day on Sunday at the houses of Delhi lads — Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Ashish Nehra — as fans gathered to congratulate the families for the World Cup feat.
A large number of people gathered outside Gambhir's residence in Rajendra Nagar in central Delhi in the morning bursting crackers and some enthusiastic fans distributing sweets.
The Delhi four will receive an extra Rs. one crore from the city government with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit deciding to honour the Delhi players as well as captain M.S. Dhoni.
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“Happiness cannot be expressed in words. We have announced a prize money of Rs. one crore for the four players and Dhoni will be given Rs. two crore because he led the team and we won under his captaincy,” Ms. Dikshit said.
Gambhir's decisive 97-run knock had put the team in the driver's seat. The fans, mostly his neighbours, were singing paeans to his batting, saying he was the “real hero” of the finals.
Said Anand Sharma, who stays a few blocks away from Gambhir's residence, “We were here on Saturday night and we are here again. We cannot stop celebrating. What a feat! Our neighbour is a national hero now.”
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Euphoric scenes were witnessed in Najafgarh, Sehwag's place, as fans hit the streets taking out impromptu processions.