It took no time for the party, which began in the under-19 dressing room in Kuala Lumpur, to spill over to India as friends and families of the players became instant celebrities.

Anticipation had been in the air at Tanmay Srivastava’s house in the Alambagh locality of Lucknow right from the morning. With his father Manoj already in Malaysia, mother Rosy and sister Kopal were watching the action on TV with members of his large joint family. As wickets started tumbling, laddoos came out of boxes piled up in a corner.

Finally, as Siddharth Kaul bowled the last delivery, fire-crackers started going off in the neighbourhood and Tanmay’s cousins began dancing to drum beats.

Neighbours started pouring in, and could the crews from news channels be far behind?

Dozens of mikes were thrust before Tanmay’s mother with questions about India’s win and her son’s performance. For a first-timer, she did an excellent job, handling it all with confidence.

Speaking to The Indian Express, she said: “I was reminded of the days when he played with a plastic bat and I bowled ‘lollipop’ deliveries to him.”

His sister Kopal said: “I’m waiting for my brother to return so we can go for another round of celebrations.”

Over in Gujarat, another household in a small, nondescript village called Adahadatoda, in Jamnagar district, was busy watching cricket.

Instead of Sachin’s century in Sydney, their eyes were glued to the under-19 match in Kuala Lumpur because Ravindra Jadeja was playing his second successive final.

... contd.