CRPF jawans in Srinagar painted their moustache in the tricolour. Mendicants in Allahabad made a beeline to the Sangam to pray for the team in thanksgiving. Fans in Kolkata rushed to Dakshineshwar to make offerings at the temple and even the barbers discussed animatedly the finer points of the game. Several thousand people gathered outside Dhoni’s house in Ranchi and danced through the night to atone for the stones they had thrown after the team had lost in the World Cup four years ago.

But today a grateful and overwhelmed nation struggled to show its appreciation. The Railways came up with life-time passes for two to enable the players to travel anywhere in AC first class. By winning the Cup itself, the members of the team collectively received Rs 13.6 crore as prize money. The BCCI was prompt and spot on to instantly announce a further cash award of Rs one crore each to all members of this swashbuckling team. The support cast was not forgotten either. Cash awards of Rs 50 lakh each for them and Rs 25 lakh for each of the five selectors were also announced. And, as if not to be left behind, all others too have now joined this scramble to reward these players with riches and purses of gold.

This win, which has transformed the image of these players into a larger-than-life one will also bring in its wake myriad advertisement opportunities with a gargantuan price-tag and sure enough sponsors will still be falling over each other to have a piece of these champions as brand ambassadors of their respective products.

For the moment though the celebrations are hectic. The entire team was felicitated by President Pratibha Patil at the Raj Bhawan in Mumbai today and captain Dhoni, sporting his new bald look, proudly posed for shutterbugs with the World Cup trophy nestled comfortably in his grasp. Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit announced a award of Rs two crore for Dhoni and Rs one crore each for the four Delhi players--Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli and Nehra. Man-of-the Tournamnent Yuvraj Singh, who already has a little fleet of imported cars of his own, will be getting another Audi. (He had also received a similar award from Lalit Modi some four years ago for smashing six sixers in one over in the T20 World Cup)

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chauhan announced award of Rs one crore each for Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, who hail from the state. Punjab Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal said Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh will be given a cash award of Rs one crore each. Karnataka CM BS Yeddyurappa announced his government would honour players with a residential plot each from the Bangalore Development Authority. Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhrayal Nishank promised a residential plot or a house in Mussoorie hill station for Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. He also announced that a stadium will be built in the state to be named after Dhoni.

Jharkhand Government said it would give a plot of land to Dhoni to set up a cricket academy in the state. "The Jharkhand Governmnet has decided to allot the land to help Dhoni to fulfil his long-cherished dream to set up a cricket academy," Deputy Chief Minister, Sudesh Mahto said. "The size and location of the plot will be decided in consultation with Dhoni," he said. And this is just the beginning.

The riches will continue to flow for these players and this heady feeling of euphoria will continue to engulf the country for some time to come.