"I shut my eyes. I could not bear to see this. I waited for the spectator response and the roar told me we had won", the Haryana medium pacer said.
ROHTAK (Haryana): When everyone else on the field, thousands of spectators and millions of TV viewers were watching a ball balloon towards S Sreesanth for a decisive catch in the Twenty20 World championships cricket final at Johannesburg Monday evening, the bowler, Joginder Sharma, had shut his eyes.
"I shut my eyes. I could not bear to see this. I waited for the spectator response and the roar told me we had won. It was a very special moment," the Haryana medium pacer said after reaching his hometown late on Wednesday night.
Sharma got the crucial last wicket of in-form Pakistani batsman Misbah-ul Haq in the final over of the title clash after being hit for a six off the previous delivery.
India won the match and the Twenty20 world title by beating Pakistan by five runs.
Sharma, whose last over exploits in the semi-final contest against Australia, the number one cricketing side in the world, and in the final against Pakistan saw him claiming three crucial wickets when it mattered the most, returned to his simple household here amid much fanfare.
Hundreds of relatives, friends and neighbours lined up the streets to welcome their new hero.
Ironically, when Sharma left town to join the Indian cricket team recently, not many would have recognised him. Today, he is a star.
Joginder's father Om Prakash Sharma runs a 'paan' shop near the Rohtak railway station while his brothers run carpentry and stationery outlets nearby.
Sharma himself was appointed a deputy superintendent of police by the Haryana government earlier this month, before the start of the Twenty20 tournament.
The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government has announced a cash reward of Rs 2.4 million for the medium pace bowler who brought laurels to the state after the legendary 'Haryana hurricane' Kapil Dev.
Deepinder Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament and the chief minister's son, brought Sharma home from the Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi in a motorcade.
People lined up on the streets of the town, about 100 km west of the national capital, as the motorcade neared his house. Hundreds of well-wishers and fans were present at his home when he arrived there.
"I am overwhelmed by this response from the people. While at Mumbai, the sea of humanity had come for the whole team, here people came for Joginder Sharma," he observed.
His cousin Raju Sharma said he had never witnessed such huge crowds even at the election victory rallies of political leaders.
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