Fans go berserk as India quashes Lankans

Cricket fans went crazy as the Indian team recorded the biggest margin victory over Sri Lankans in the three Test match series on Friday.

Cricket buffs celebrated in various ways-- by distributing sweets, waiving Tricolour, chanting slogans, bursting crackers and dancing to the tunes of patriotic songs. 

The 35,000-seat Green Park Stadium witnessed nearly 20,000 spectators on the fourth day of the Test match on Friday. "Sri Lanka is not a weak team at all and wining against it shows we are 'the' winners. The way Sreesanth started and picked up six wickets on Thursday, it decided the match," enthused Prabhakar, a cricket fan. 

"We are also celebrating because India has won a Test match with a huge margin against the Sri Lankans. We will visit a religious place to pray that India wins the series by defeating Sri Lankans in the Third Test match as well, which will be held in Mumbai from December 1," said Imran, a young cricketer. 

"It was also the able leadership of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni that ensured victory against Sri Lankans," said Vinay, a true Dhoni fan. As soon as the Sri Lankans lost their last wicket of Chanaka Welegedara, people who had been glued to their television sets came out on the streets and began dancing. At many places, people were seen distributing sweets and dancing to the tunes of Bhangra. 

Nitesh, an avid follower of the game, said finally India that was looking for a win after the first Test match at Ahmedabad-- which was a draw-- did a marvellous job by recording a comfortable win by an innings and 144 runs in the second Test and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 

"When the visitors resumed their game today from the score of 57, everybody prayed for India to bowl out the Lankans and enable India to a deserved win," Pragyan added. 

Another cricket fan, Vivek Chawla, expressed joy over India's easy victory when he said Sreesanth, who had returned to the game after a long gap, made all the difference between the two teams. 

However, with the match finishing a day before the scheduled slot following surrender by Sri Lankans, for many who had come from Lucknow and bordering districts, the entire experience was a big let down. "We have come from Rae Bareli and reached the stadium at 12.30 am and by that time the Indian's were nearing victory. 

"We have been told by police officials that the match is about to finish. We have purchased pavilion tickets for Friday and Saturday but it was our bad luck that we missed Indians victory," said Siddharth Singh, a cricket buff.