The victorious Indian team got a rousing welcome on Wednesday night when it arrived back home after the triumphant tour of New Zealand.
Six members of the Test squad landed in Mumbai at around 2300 IST and were welcomed by a large numbers of fans and mediamen at the airport.
Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel were the players who arrived in Mumbai while the rest of the squad flew in directly to their home cities.
Tendulkar, who walked out to a huge ovation from his home fans, said, "It was special being a part of the winning side, but what made it more special was that we won in New Zealand after 41 years."
India had a poor start to the tour, losing both the T20 internationals. However, the visitors created history, winning a Test series for the first time in New Zealand after 41 years. They also crushed the Kiwis 3-1 in the ODI series.
"It's an achievement. Everyone is happy. The entire country has supported us. It was victory after 41 years," the champion batsman said.
It was the first time that India had defeated New Zealand in their own backyard in a Test series since Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's team had vanquished the Kiwis in 1967-68 after hopping across the Tasman sea following a poor series in Australia.
Some members of the support staff of the team also landed in Mumbai along with the players.
Skipper MS Dhoni and some other members of the team, based in northern cities, disembarked in Delhi by a different flight.
South-based cricketers, including veterans Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman, went to their respective places directly, according to Board of Control for Cricket in India sources.
Photographs: Reuters
