Sourav Ganguly, himself having led India to many a memorable win, was excited at India’s victory. “It’s a memorable day for Indian cricket. Throughout the tournament we played as a unit and that’s the main reason for our victory,” said the left-hander.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy has caught everyone’s imagination especially the way he handled the pressure situations with a cool head. “Dhoni is a mature cricketer and he led the team very well in the tournament,” said Ganguly.

Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar also hailed the win.

“It was a brilliant team effort and along with the players, the entire nation is celebrating. Dhoni led the team to a fabulous victory and I can say that Indian cricket is in safe hands,” he said.

Former India batting great GR Viswanath too was all praise for Dhoni. “Dhoni’s captaincy was brilliant. He kept his cool and always seemed to be in control of things,” said Viswanath.

Viswanath termed India’s victory fantastic and was impressed with the way Indians clawed their way back into the match.

“What a match! I felt we were short of 20 to 25 runs when we finished batting. And when Misbah (ul-Haq) was batting it certainly seemed so. But hats-off to our bowlers. They have bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament and today too they pulled it off for us.”

Another former batting star Brijesh Patel attributed India’s success to player’s positive attitude. “Through out the tournament the boys looked positive. Their body language was always that of winners’. They never flinched under pressure-cooker situations,” he opined.

Former India international Vijay Bharadwaj said there can be no bigger celebration than a victory over Pakistan in a World Cup final.

“It was a joy to watch an Indian team play such a brand of cricket that is very uncommon to us. This is the result of investing in the youth,” he said.