BY JULIANNA CUMMINS, EDMONTON JOURNAL APRIL 3, 2011 2:13 AM
 Tears flowed in the University of Alberta’s Students’ Union Building after India won its first cricket world cup title in almost 30 years. The excitement in the SUB started by 2 a.m. Saturday, about an hour before the final match of the Cricket World Cup started, said Debjyoti Sen, a student from India and spokesman for the Indian Student Association at the U of A.

The association set up a screen and a projector in the SUB building to watch the game, said Sen. More than 100 students turned up to watch the game.

The crowd of students were nervous at the start of the eight-hour match, said Sen. Once India was declared the winner, people exchanged hugs and waved the Indian flag, with some women in the crowd crying.

Sen spoke with his parents after the match, who said the entire country is in festival mode with loud firecrackers popping in the hours after the match.

“I wish I could have been in India,” said Sen. He said the last time India won the Cricket World Cup championship was in 1983.

In celebration of India’s victory, Rajvi Bhasin was serving free mango lassi drink at his downtown restaurant, Khazana.

He watched the early morning game at home with friends, although he said he would have hosted an outdoor viewing at his restaurant if the weather was warmer.

Bhasin said he was in touch with family and friends in India throughout the game, adding that he received at least 200 texts throughout the night.

“I was up all night,” said Bhasin. “I watched ball to ball.” The day of the match was declared a public holiday in Mumbai, Bhasin said.

To watch the game in Canada, however, he had to put up $200 for a pay-per-view package of the 40day tournament.

“He made a point of watching every game India played.

“It was worth a thousand bucks,” Bhasin said.