Gurgaon lived it up as history was recreated in mumbai

GURGAON: On Saturday, Gurgaon echoed with the shouts of ‘India... India’. That cricket is a religion in this country was proven once again by the phenomenal number of people — cutting across barriers of age, religion and gender — who gathered in hordes to pray and cheer for Dhoni and his boys as India took on Sri Lanka in the World Cup final.
Malls in the city remained choc-a-bloc with fans, who blew trumpets, shouted slogans and danced as the men in blue grabbed wickets and hit boundaries.“There’s no way we could miss this match. We’re sure 1983 would be repeated in Mumbai as a billion prayers are with Team India. We have put up a commendable show in the series,” said a group of youngsters watching the match live on a giant screen projector in MGF Metropolitan mall.
Eateries in Gurgaon made the most of D-Day by introducing cricket special meals and unlimited drinks till the last over of the match.
Bauji Da Dhaba came up with an offer of unlimited alcohol for Indian fans, while Drift, the restobar at Epicentre, had on its menu an unlimited supply of snacks, drinks and a buffet dinner for fans. A host of a tractive offers in bars, banquets and hotels meant a spurt in business.
“The response was awesome in the India-Pakistan match and people had started making bookings since then. There has been an increase in liquor sales by almost 15 per cent. We offered a 20 per cent discount on certain packages,” said Vikas Kapoor, general manager, Radisson Suites.
“We increased the rates of imported liquor and that helped us pull in a good revenue,” said Simarjeet Singh, general manager, Park Plaza.
At Kingdom of Dreams, a stadium-like atmosphere was created with two giant screen LCD television sets and bhangra artistes, who danced and cheered every wicket taken and every boundary hit by the Indian players. The entertainment hub, which had on offer unlimited snacks and drinks from every state in India at the Culture Gully, witnessed more than 700 Gurgaonites unite in support of the team.
And if one thought this was the closest that Gurgaon could get to Wankhede, there was more.
Even the sandstorm in the evening could not deter Gurgaonites from taking to the streets armed with the tricolour.
“This day has come after a long time. Come hell or high water, we will not let it go to waste. We are celebrating the very fact that India is playing the final match and is on the verge of victory,” said Arun, a marketing professional.