July 15  
Jubilant India hails rare cricket triumph 

NEW DELHI: India woke up Sunday celebrating a brilliant win by the national cricket team over England, with the media predicting further success at next year's World Cup.

Sourav Gangly's men fashioned a sensational win in the NatWest one-day final at Lord's on Saturday night, overtaking the hosts' mammoth 325-5 with two wickets and three balls to spare.

The second-highest total ever made to win a one-dayer -- just behind Australia's 330 against South Africa earlier this year -- gave India its first title after nine successive defeats in limited-overs finals.

Millions of fans, who stayed up past dinner time to watch the gripping match on television, burst crackers to celebrate a rare triumph for Ganguly's men.

India's cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya immediately announced a bonus of 10 million rupees (US$208,000) for the victorious team and, like the media, predicted happier times ahead. "It is just the beginning and henceforth our victory caravan will continue beyond the World Cup in February," Dalmiya told reporters from his home in Kolkata.

"We are on the right track and this combination of experienced players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble and the youngsters is going to give the Indian team great results in coming days."

The country's media, otherwise staunch critics of the team for its failure to win a Test series outside the subcontinent since 1986, joined in the applause. The win received front-page banner headlines in the Times of India, dwarfing a terrorist attack in the volatile Jammu and Kashmir state which killed 27 people. "India announced itself as a serious contender for the World Cup to be held in South Africa in February-March next year," the paper gushed.

The Indians will stay on in England for a series of four Test matches, starting at Lord's on July 25.