JOIN USFrom Bollywood actresses such as Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty to spin legend Shane Warne and tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, all came together on Twitter to congratulate Team India and wish Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men good luck ahead of the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on April 2 in Mumbai.
While insane celebrations were scenes on the streets in all parts of the country, the virtual world on the social networking website came out in unified voices of joy after co-hosts India beat traditional rivals Pakistan by 29 runs at the PCA stadium in Mohali last night.
"What a game! It was a pleasure to see the crowd at Mohali stadium come alive and cheer for India. Go India! Sachin U rock :-) Ting," posted actress Priety Zinta. "INDIA WON..n I cried!:) tears of joy! Class act by the Indian team, aggression with maturity, lethal combo! Deserve to be in the Finals, fab job," tweeted another Bollywood starlet Shilpa Shetty.
Shilpa, also the co-owner of Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals, however, felt bad for Shahid Afridi and his boys. "Felt bad for Afridi though, his reaction after the last ball, well played by Wahab Riaz too.. Hard luck, but Respect:)," she said. Actor Priyanka Chopra posted: ""Oh my god! What a show of class Team India! The world cup awaits you in Mumbai!"
"Well played Pakistan. You guys are formidable opponents. Be proud of what you've achieved this world cup," she tweeted. Actor R Madhavan of 'Tanu weds Manu' fame tweeted, "The BEST part was 2 see the camaraderie and mutual respect between the 2 teams (sic)".
"India outclasses Pakistan at Mohali. Mumbai, get ready for the biggest roar of the season - India v/s Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup Finals," tweeted filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar. Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh and Shabana Azmi also congratulated the Indian team and wished them good luck for the final match.
Former Australian and spin legend Warne, who had predicted during the match that India will win by eight runs, posted: "Congrats to India. Congrats on getting through to World Cup Final and man of the match Sachin Tendulkar." He further wrote: "Just finished another fitness session and a good - bat/bowl before I head off to India for IPL season 4 - excited. Congrats again to India."
Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, who had declared a war on her Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik before the high-octane clash over the team they support, wrote: "Yaaayyy well done Team India..yyeessssss..congratulations to India:) Bad luck to Pakistan..fantastic win by India but job only half done..one more to go..phheww..now I can go practice in peace..GO INDIA."
She further tweeted: "As for today the men in blue brought smiles to a billion ppl:) Now to support an Indian (Rohan Bopanna) and a Pakistani (Aisam Qureshi) playing together in Miami:)
Mirza wrote that Pakistan team proved many critics wrong by reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup and congratulated the Men in Green for a great tournament.
"Makes you wonder what they (Pakistan) could achieve with this talent and without all the problems and controversies surrounding them!!"
Shoaib Malik tweeted to Sania: "I wish I would have played today's match. The boys in green should walk with their head held high..Pakistan zindabad." He further wrote: "The whole country will welcome them home with a lot of love. Today the Pakistani cricket team has given the whole Pakistan a lot to cheer and smile about..we are proud of you boys..."
Former Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi also tweeted: "Started as a high pressured match. But it was India all the way. Congrats to the Team. Looking forward to the Finals in Mumbai." Indian Premier League CEO Sundar Raman wrote: "Munafs ball to razzaq and bhajjis to umar changed the game for me. Give it to the selectors. They showed faith in the 15 and they have delivered. Well done."
Indian tennis ace Bhupathi also congratulated the Indian cricket team on winning the semi-final, and wrote on Twitter: "Big day.. One more to go for India. Can't fight destiny folks. Everything going our way. Catches, home field advantage, power play and so on."
Chetan Bhagat, the author of four blockbuster novels, Five Point Someone, One Night @ the Call Center, The 3 Mistakes of my life and 2 States, also congratulated the Indian team. "Thank you Team India for giving a billion of us so much happiness and unity tonight! Congrats to all Indians."