Indians and cricket fans across the world celebrated after the Indian cricket team on Sunday defeated South Africa to win the T20 World Cup trophy for the second time after 17 years.
Soon after the win, snippets of crucial moments from the tense final at the Kensington Oval Stadium in Barbados, reaction videos of captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah and a video capturing the excitement and joy of legendary cricketer and head coach of the winning team, Rahul Dravid, along with a host of congratulatory memes, went viral.
Talking to reporters after the team’s win, Dravid said, “I was not fortunate enough to win a trophy as a player but I did my best. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to coach the team and I am also fortunate that I was able to win a trophy because of these teammates. It feels great. I wasn’t looking for any kind of redemption, it was the job I was doing… It’s been a wonderful journey…”
In a video taken at the moment India won the match, Dravid can be seen jumping out of his seat in excitement. Many social media users shared the same video with captions like, “Rahul Dravid showing emotion. I have seen it all,” and “Rahul Dravid finally showing emotion!”.
X user @thatcricketguy shared a video of Kohli and co helping Dravid lift the trophy. He captioned the video as “Rahul Dravid – Indiranagar wins.” The video, which has been shared by many other social media users, can be seen as Dravid shouting with joy as he lifts the trophy.
In a video shared by X’s handle @CinemaRareIN with the caption, “Dreams aren’t something you chase alone” – Rahul Dravid, Dravid can be seen wiping away tears, embracing and comforting an overwhelmed Virat Kohli, being tossed in the air by his team and posing for pictures with the World Cup trophy. “Raw emotions” is what the text overlaid on the video reads.
In another video, the normally reserved Dravid was seen exuding joy and pride as he posed with Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and other players. Dravid was booed and cheered as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli lifted the trophy.
Sharing the video, X’s handle @anubhav_tweets wrote, “It’s really rare to see an introvert express their emotions. I can totally relate to Dravid saab’s feelings.”
The video, which has been viewed over 31,75,000 times, has garnered a mixed response with one user commenting, “No one has ever seen this side of Dravid. He will be relieved to become the manager of a World Cup winning team,” while another wrote, “Dravid The Wall lifted the World Cup trophy in his penultimate match as manager. So happy to see the Great Wall of India so happy.”
“Rahul David’s emotions say it all… 90s kids will understand,” responded a third user.
One video showed Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal and Rishabh Pant lifting Dravid and hurling him in the air.
Following the win, Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma announced their retirement from T20 cricket. Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the Player of the Tournament award for his outstanding bowling prowess.
