Mumbaikars gorge on mouth-watering Johannesburger!

City went berserk after the Men in Blue won a nail-biting T20 World Cup Cricket Final against arch-rivals Pakistan in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday.

Minutes after the defiant Misbah-ul-Haq fell to send Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s ‘Team India II’ into raptures, crackers lit up the city skyline. It seemed Diwali had come even before Ganesha bade adieu. People glued to television sets spilled on to the streets, shouting victory slogans.

Such was the ecstacy that members of Sion’s Bal Yuva Ganesh Mandal burst all fire crackers they had hoarded for Tuesday’s Visarjan. “We had bought firecrackers worth Rs3500. Now, we will have to buy more for the visarjan.”

Those who saw the match at workplace, headed straight for the bars. The ambience at Sports Bar, Colaba, was electric. People poured beer on each other and bogeyed to the tapping beats. Some even recorded skipper Dhoni’s victory speech, no doubt they would be listening it over and over again.  Sajid Desai, a sales manager at Citibank, said, “An Indo-Pak clash is always a pressure match. I came with my friends to enjoy the final and had a real good time.”

Terming the match as the best ever he had seen after India’s World Cup victory in 1983, NRI Vinayak Aggarwal, who was at Sports Bar, said, “This is the best Indian team. Dhoni is a terrific captain.”

The scene was no less electric outside Dadar station. Bars and hotels were overflowing with celebrating Mumbaikars. Trains which ran empty during the course of the match, were crammed with ecstatic commuters heading for home. With the streets turned into dance floors, traffic crawled at a snail’s pace. Taman Shetty, a corporate employee said, “We plan to party all night. Office is open tomorrow, but then we don’t win a World Cup every day.” 

At least 2, 000 fans gathered at Shivaji Park, minutes after the victory. An impromptu dhol team was called in by the residents. Young and old alike, participated in the revelry.

Whistles and Chak De... tune rented the air at the upmarket High Street Phoenix Mills, Parel. Young girls joined the boys in dancing and tippling to celebrate the win. Sunny Gupta, a banker and an ardent soccer fan, said, “I felt as if India had won the Soccer World cup.” Girls went wild when Dhoni lifted the trophy.

The motorcycle gangs too emerged, zooming through the city streets, with the Tricolour fluttering high.

The workaholics: Even as the city geared up to watch the Twenty20 World Cup final between India and Pakistan, work continued as usual for those responsible for essential services — Railways, BEST and the police. 

“It is not appropriate for guards, and especially for motormen on duty, to be distracted while listening to the radio. Service to the people comes first and one’s own enjoyment is always secondary. Cricket matches may be fun, but we can catch up with the score later in the news,” said Bhagwat Dahisarkar, senior public relations officer, Western Railway.

It was all-work-and-no-play for BEST bus drivers and conductors, doctors, and Mumbai police. As the match coincided with the second last day of Ganpati festival, cops continued with intensified patrolling drive. “We have to do our duty. However, we kept ourselves updated through the radio and from the people around,” said a police constable on foot patrol at Parel.

The money-spinners: The police crackdown on bookies — 27 were arrested on Saturday — failed to curb betting in the final. Sources said that an estimated Rs2,000 crore was placed in bets. But some bookies claimed that the actual figure was close to Rs5,000 crore.

If this were not enough, one insisted (before the match began) that India winning the toss would ensure that the odds on every rupee bet on an Indian victory would ensure a 50 paise return for the punter, while a Pakistan win would earn the punter Rs1.25. On Monday evening bookies opened the odds on an India win netting the punter a 90 paise return, while a Pakistan bet would earn Rs1.15 paise.

Another bookie insisted that when India won the toss and elected to bat, Pakistan became favourites, with a rupee bet on Pakistan only able to earn 85 paise. A bet on India at that point would have earned a return of Rs2.25.

When Sreesanth was hit for 20 in only his second over, the odds changed - an India win would get the punter who bet a rupee Rs2.25 in return, while a similar bet on Pakistan would net him 40 paise.