The celebration that started on Monday midnight continued unabated in the capital yester-d*ay as the national cricketers paraded through the streets amid thunderous applause of people from all walks of life.

Hundreds of jubilant cricket zealots poured onto the street to greet the heroes, who recorded a historic win against cricketing giants Pakistan at Northampton in England in the seventh World Cup.

The cricketers, who flew into the city Friday morning. spent another hectic day alter the civic reception hours later at the National Parade Square.

The rally organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), started from the Banga-bandhu National Stadium with the national heroes saddling open trucks, ecstatic with joy.

I The motorcade, incidentally. • began from the Motijheel and j Saoujbagh area, the par-| liamentary constituency of BCB ' supremo Saber Hossain । Chowdhury.

। It looked like a moving panorama as hundreds of thousands of people, from street urchins to officials, students to housewives, children to the elderly, joined the bandwagon.

For those, who could not get the opportunity to have a ' glimpse of the heroes, lined the streets to clap the fifteen en-fant-terribles. who turned the world of cricket, upside down, defeating Pakistan by 62 runs.

As men stormed the street, women did not miss the chance to have a view of Aminul Is lam's conquistadors, peeping through balconies and roofs.

The BCB, however, arranged 15 yellow cabs (hired taxi) to accommodate a couple of hundred cricket enthusiasts on the distaff side.

As the motorcade with a long tail buzzed past the Rampura area, industrial workers from nearby garment factories came out in the street, forcing an impromptu lay-off, for a while.

Cheering crowds showered rose petals and shouted 'Sabashi Bangladesh" (Bravo! Bangladesh) to hail the cricketers as the procession passed through residential areas.

'The cTOwrfe'-lining trp aloh^ the city streets waved at the motorcade. escorted by army personnel on motorbikes. At least 50 vehicles joined the spectacular rally.

A sea of cricket lovers — including girls and boys, wearing masks of the Royal Bengal Tiger and painting their cheeks with the national bi-colour —joined the long line of the processionists.

State minister for sports Obaidul Quader. BCB president and deputy minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives Saber Hossain Chowdhury, captain of the Bangladesh squad Aminul Islam and BCB officials led the procession.

The cricketers visibly overwhelmed by the tumultuous ovation of scrums of masses, waved back to people whose unflinching support has taken the sport to this height.

The two-hour victoiy procession ended at the Central Shaheed Minar after parading through Fakirerpool, Shahjan-pur, Kamalapur, Khilgaon. Rampura. Badda, Gulshan, Mo-hakhali, BiJoy Saranl, Manik Miah Avenue, Dhanmondi, New Market and Dhaka University campus.

The cricket stars along with the ministers placed wreath at the Central Shaheed Minar and also observed a minute's silence as a mark of respect to those immortal heroes who embraced martyrdom in the Language Movement of 1So2.