Indian players let their hair down after Champions Trophy triumph as the young brigade partied through the Sunday till wee hours of Monday morning.
Champagne overflowed and the players danced to the latest Hindi and Punjabi pop numbers sooner than they returned to their hotel on Birmingham’s upmarket Broad Street.
The final, reduced to just 20 overs a side, had started six hours late after rain ruined most of the day game.
Several fans followed the team bus to catch a glimpse of the star players as security guards kept them at safe distance.
Sources said the organisers were worried after British Tamils had protested during the India versus Sri Lanka match in Cardiff last week.
The Indian team management lifted its “curfew” hours and let the players enjoy themselves to their fullest. Virat Kohli led the celebrations as the rest of India’s young brigade joined in.
Team manager Ranjib Biswal said:”We let the boys have some fun. We had generally kept ourselves away from public eye and concentrated on the cricket, but Sunday night belonged to the boys. They won a terrific final and deserved to let their hair down.”
The Indian team will be travelling to the West Indies on Wednesday for the tri-series.
“There is no time pressure on the boys now. They will relax till they go to London to catch their flight,” said Biswal.
The absence of senior players in the squad, skipper Mahendra Singh is the senior-most at 31, let the young players have some “extra fun”. “But no girlfriends were allowed,” a team source informed.
Scoreboard
INDIA: Rohit b Broad 9, Dhawan c Tredwell b Bopara 31, Kohli c Bopara b Anderson 43, Karthik c Morgan b Tredwell 6, Raina c Cook b Bopara 1, Dhoni c Tredwell b Bopara 0, Jadeja (not out) 33, Ashwin (run out) 1, Bhuvneshwar (not out) 1. Extras (W-4) 4. Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 129.
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-50, 3-64, 4-66, 5-66, 6-113, 7-119.
Bowling: Anderson 4-0-24-1, Broad 4-0-26-1, Bresnan 4-0-34-0, Tredwell 4-0-25-1, Bopara 4-1-20-3.
ENGLAND: Cook c Ashwin b Yadav 2, Bell st Dhoni b Jadeja 13, Trott st Dhoni b Ashwin 20, Root c Ishant b Ashwin 7, Morgan c Ashwin b Ishant 33, Bopara c Ashwin b Ishant 30, Buttler b Jadeja 0, Bresnan (run out) 2, Broad (not out) 7, Tredwell (not out) 5. Extras (LB-1, W-4) 5. Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 124.
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-28, 3-40, 4-46, 5-110, 6-110, 7-112, 8-113.
Bowling: B’eshwar 3-0-19-0, Yadav 2-0-10-1, Jadeja 4-0-24-2, Ashwin 4-1-15-2, Ishant 4-0-36-2, Raina 3-0-19-0.
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