Mumbai, Apr 3 (IANS): Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has described India's World Cup triumph as the best moment of his career and said the title has brought smiles on the faces of million of fans in the country and abroad.
India Saturday night defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets to claim the World Cup after 28 years.
"I am speechless, to be honest, to express myself and how I feel. This is by far the best moment. This is the moment I have been waiting for such a long time, 21 or 22 years. It is really worth every bit of it. It is really, really special." Tendulkar told media during the felicitation of the Indian cricket team by President Pratibha Patil at Raj Bhavan.
"I never thought that god will show me this day. I cannot express my delight,"
"As an Indian we have all won this cup. It's not just us 15 (in the squad) but the entire nation. The cup belongs to the entire nation so I am sure they are feeling part of it.
"The win has brought smiles to the fans not only in India but also abroad."
The 37-year-old, who has been a part of six World Cups, said he never gave up hope of winning the title despite five failed attempts.
"I felt it was extremely important to chase my dreams and my biggest dream was this. So I continued to chase my dream and here we go. The team has managed to win this cup for the nation," he said.
"It were brilliant in the knock out stages. Every runs scored mattered and every run saved mattered. Credit to the entire team. It was sheer great team effoort and it is the only reason that we won the trophy."
"I also thank the entire support staff. Gary (Kirsten) had a huge contribution to our victory. We will miss him."
Asked about his contribution besides the batting Tendulkar said: "I have always given my inputs and shared my experience with the team. It is not only for this tournament, but whenever I feel I can contribute I have done it."