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A sea of fans greeted the victory parade of the T20 World Cup winning Indian team in Marine Drive as thousands of passionate fans descended on the streets to celebrate the memorable triumph, in Mumbai, on Thursday.
The open bus parade started from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in Nariman Point till the Wankhede Stadium started little after 7.30 pm IST as fans thronged the Marine Drive to catch a glimpse of their favourite cricketers.
Video: ANI/X
Video: ANI/X
The Wankhede Stadium, which was thrown open to fans, was packed with fans within minutes.
Immediately on their arrival in Mumbai, Rohit Sharma and his men made their way to Nariman Point to start the victory parade on the open-top bus.
Earlier, the start of the T20 World Champions's victory parade, was delayed even as thousands of fans made their way to the area and the Wankhede stadium.
The parade was pushed back as Rohit Sharma and Co landed in Mumbai a little after 5 pm local time.
According to PTI, the team left New Delhi only at 3:42 pm after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra D Modi earlier in the day, having returned from Barbados only early on Thursday morning.
The open bus parade was scheduled to begin from the National Centre for Performing Arts at the tip of Nariman Point and travel to the Wankhede stadium a kilometre away.
As early as 3 pm on Thursday afternoon, fans, waving the Indian Tricolour, emerged from Western Railway suburban trains at Churchgate station in south Mumbai on Thursday, ahead of Team India's victory parade.
Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani reported scenes of chaos and a near stampede as fans awaited the parade, that will set off at Marine Drive at 5 pm.
Extra security has been deployed at Churchgate and the nearby stations in view of the Indian team's victory parade in south Mumbai on Thursday evening, the Western Railway said.
'Extra security arrangements have been made at Churchgate, Marine Lines and Charni Road stations for efficient crowd management as a huge numbers of fans are expected to travel to Wankhede Stadium and also around Marine Drive to take part in the victory parade celebrations,' Western Railway tweeted.
'Additional Ticket Checking staff have also been deployed at the stations and additional UTS windows at Churchgate will remain operational till midnight,' Western Railway posted on X.
Fans thronged the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai and in no time the iconic venue, where India won the 2011 ODI World Cup final, was packed to the maximum.
Even the rain proved to be no bar for the waiting fans as they danced in the stands.
Some fans were heard chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" at south Mumbai's Marine Lines station as they alighted from the trains, with a replica of the T20 World Cup trophy.
Earlier, the special bus for India's victory parade reached Marine Drive, hours before the victorious Indian cricket team arrived in the city.
The bus, with an open top, has been customised with the team's picture across the bus.