The night UAE went crazy to celebrate India win

The burning question of the night was not whether India will win the ICC Cricket World Cup final, but rather if model Poonam Pandey will come through on her dare bare act to flash the winning hosts.

While the outcome of that little pledge had many in a tizzy, Pandey's flash-in-the-pan stunt most certainly did not steal the thunder of the boys in blue who took home the cup in a nail-biting finish against Sri Lanka.

Cheers erupted in homes, cars, bars and streets when news of India's win spread like wildfire.

"I knew India was going to win tonight. The outcome was never under doubt," said 29-year-old Sujjay Sharma, who watched the scorcher with his friends at home, followed by an after party for nearly 50 mates.

Meanwhile, the streets of Bur Dubai erupted in an impromptu parade once again, reminiscent of Wednesday's India-Pakistan clash that even had the local police stand back and watch as cricket fans danced into the wee hours chanting 'Long Live India', while waving country flags.

"I never thought I would see India win another world cup in my lifetime, after the 1983 win. I'm so glad they proved me wrong," said an emotional Moindher Singh, a 52-year-old carpenter who had to wipe away tears while talking.

Tears, in fact, flowed freely post the India win as people openly sobbed on the streets and in bars when MS Dhoni hit the winning six that saw his team lift the cup.

"My country won; what more can I ask for?" said 24-year-old Meeta Balani, a salesperson in a local bank.

Festive fever

Police cordoned off the road next to Silver Sands 3, behind BurJuman Centre, as hundreds congregated in the square burning firecrackers, dancing and handing out sweets.

Those who had drums brandished the beat, while others simply grabbed steel plates and empty plastic three-litre bottles to hit the bass.

Even as the traffic jams snaked their way for miles, many seemed not to care.

They simply joined in the fun by hanging out of the windows or the sun roof to cheer on.

"In India we have only two religions: Bollywood and cricket. One is passé, while the other still has the ability to bring the country to its knees," said Anjali Aryaman, a 34-year-old homemaker. "We all know what happened tonight."

Skeptics aplenty

The mood was very different a few hours before the final hit, when Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli's wickets fell in rapid succession.

Curses, prayers and positive vibes were being teleported via phone calls, Smses, tweets and Facebook messages.

"It's sad the world cup won't come home," said one such alert on microblogging site, Twitter.

While another tweet asked everyone to simply shut up and stop sending out negative vibes, citing philosophies from Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret".

"Whatever the case, skeptics were proved wrong, that's what matters," said Ali Khan, a 19-year-old brandishing a vuvuzela.

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