Cup of (kill)joy? India have ‘fake’ cup; real one stuck in customs

Media speculation is rife in India as regards the trophy that was handed out to the Indian team at the World Cup final ceremony.

While several media reports stated before the final that the actual World Cup trophy was not cleared by Indian Customs officials, as duty had not been paid on it, sources have now said that a ‘fake’ was given.

If this is true it has never happened in the 36-year history of the World Cup competition.

The Times of India today reported that according to its sources, Team India were given a replica of the World Cup trophy.

If true, it likely to put a dampener on the wild celebrations in the Indian subcontinent.

"The original is lying with the Customs," the TOI quoted a BCCI source without elaborating.

When contacted Customs sources, however, said the Cup was with them for non-payment of duty of 35 per cent of the original value.

"We will release it after payment of 35 per cent customs duty after its valuation," they told PTI.

The Cup, meanwhile, has been in the forefront of the celebrations by the entire Indian nation with players even posing with it along with President Pratibha Patil at the Raj Bhavan yesterday.

The captain of the winning team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been photographed and caught on television cameras carrying the replica to the iconic Gateway of India opposite the team hotel yesterday. Man of the Tournament, Yuvraj Singh, has been kissing the replica repeatedly in delight.

The ICC on Monday rejected reports that the World Cup with the Indian team is a replica and maintained that it is the original trophy after controversy broke out over news that that it was a fake that was presented to the team on Saturday

The party is on

The Indian victory celebrations didn't end with the ceremony and trophy presentation at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night. Like most of the country, Team India partied hard into the night, finally hitting the sack only way past dawn at around 7.30 am on Sunday.

According to the Times of India, the party was in three stages. First there was an impromptu bash with the Taj Mahal Tower's guests, then a party among the teammates themselves outside their rooms and finally a bigger bash at the Zodiac Grill with family and friends.

The Indian team had left the Wankhede to reach the hotel at around 12.15 am.

The moment the players walked in, chants of "Indiaaa, Indiaaa" greeted the team at decibel levels that could be heard as far away as the Gateway. The hotel had been barricaded to not let in outsiders and what followed inside were maniacal celebrations.

The hotel's leading chef, Hemant Oberoi, had baked a special cake in the shape of the World Cup for the team. The players cut the grand chocolate cake at the Starboard, a portside bar with a maritime theme housed at the lobby level.

Once that was done, the bubbly flowed. The players and the hotel guests popped the finest of Moet & Chandon Magnum and the party began. Indian and continental delicacies were served and the players were drenched in champagne.

The party went on in the lobby for close to an hour.

The hotel receptionists, floor managers, security men, bell boys, attendants and other employees had no choice but to stand and watch the pandemonium as the guests partied with the cricketers like there was no tomorrow.

Champagne was sprayed, cake scattered, seats were climbed over; there was shouting, yelling and singing of 'Saare jahan se achcha.'

Once they reached their floor, the teammates went to their respective rooms, refreshed themselves and came back to party by themselves at the lobby of the same floor.

It was already 2.30 am by then. That, perhaps, was the first time since lifting the Cup that Dhoni's bunch of world beaters could soak in their moment of truth and let what they had achieved through the evening sink in. They stayed there for around another hour, in their very private huddle, where emotions ran high and tears flowed.

It was important to get a grip over themselves before moving any further into the night and the players did just that.

At around 3.30 am, they walked into the Zodiac Grill, where the Taj had even prepared a dance floor for the team members and their personal guests, including family and friends.

It was 7 am by the time they returned to their rooms, tired enough to hit the sack. On arrival, they were greeted with congratulatory notes on beds crisply made up with white linen.

Expectedly, the cricketers, their support staff, coaches and officials of the International Cricket Council had a late meal on Monday, with some placing orders up to their rooms. They then gathered on the Taj Chambers terrace for a photo-op with the Cup before heading to Raj Bhavan for high tea with the President of India.

It was 3.30 pm when they got into the bus to head to Walkeshwar.

Record viewership: 67.6 million

MS Dhoni and his boys scored many firsts in bringing home cricket's biggest prize after 28 years on Saturday. India’s history-defying World Cup win can add another record to the list - a TV viewership of 67.6 million. Overnight TV viewership measurement agency aMap’s data shows that a record 67.6 million viewers in cable and satellite TV homes watched the final against Sri Lanka, beating the 67.3-million mark for the high-voltage semi-final against Pakistan.

aMap’s ratings are derived from the cable and satellite TV universe - which has a 100 million-plus household subscriber base -  that it samples in urban India. The reach doesn’t include 31 million homes covered by the direct-to-home broadcasters and those watching the game in multiplexes, restaurants and pubs, say market research industry officials.

Is Dhoni the greatest captain ever?

The jury is out. Or at least the discussion has begun.

Had his surprise preference for the potentially erratic paceman Sreesanth over off-spinner R Ashwin had backfired the knives would have been out.

But in the next 30 overs, as he played the most valuable knock of his career that helped India lift the Cup again after 28 years, MS Dhoni showed why he is The One.

Is he India's greatest captain ever? Statistics suggest that. In ODIs, his 62% success rate is higher than everyone else.

His World Cup record, 83% wins, is better than everyone else. So is his Test record. But then captaincy is much more than just outcomes.

Indian cricket has seen dozens of astute captains. Most don't have the statistics to illustrate their point. By all accounts, though, MAK Pataudi was a shrewd tactician and Ajit Wadekar has a couple of historic wins to his credit. Mohammed Azharuddin too has a bag of victories under his belt though he was anything but inspiring as leader.

In the end, it boils down to a battle between Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni.

Dhoni has inherited a far more stable team. But the fact remains that Dhoni has taken Team India and its self-belief to a whole new level. Ganguly's team still had remnants of feudalism; Dhoni's unit is totally modern, fully 21st century. Under him, the team regularly snatches victories from the jaws of defeat. Whenever the chips are down, someone comes up with something special. Dhoni is remarkably focused, forthright and result-oriented.

Perhaps his real test will come when the golden greats - Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman - depart from the scene. And, when Zaheer Khan loses his sting.

It looks pretty certain though that Dhoni will find a way. Throughout his career, the son of a former pump operator has adapted remarkably to change. The long locks vanished against Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf's advice. The short hair was less flamboyant but made him look more responsible. As a batsman, he swapped adventure for responsibility. The strike rate went down and so did his number of supporters. But the changed image helped when his name cropped up for captaincy.

Throughout the Cup, Dhoni kept playing his signature helicopter shot in a television commercial. Those annoyed with the India skipper's poor run of form often wondered aloud if he would ever play the shot in the championship.

The truth is, he didn't. Not a single time in the 295 balls he faced. Not even when he smote paceman NLTC Perera high into the stands to ensure India's triumph. Nobody knows the huge margin between art and reality better than captain MS Dhoni.

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