World Cup runners-up welcomed as heroes in Croatia
Zagreb (Croatia), July 17 : Croatia's national football team rode through this capital in triumph aboard an open-top bus for more than five hours on their return from the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they reached the final before succumbing 2-4 to France.
More than 500,000 people, according to police, filled the streets of Zagreb - population 800,000 - to welcome the squad home on Monday.
"We have realized our dream," team captain and Real Madrid standout Luka Modric said, reports Efe.
Modric, who was voted best player of the 2018 World Cup for his part in leading dark horse Croatia to the final, then led the multitude in singing a traditional patriotic song.
Another star, Ivan Rakitic, was greeted with chants of "Ivan, Ivan, Ivan."
"It's impossible to describe these feelings," the FC Barcelona midfielder said adding: "We are truly proud of having defended our colors."
Croatia, a nation of roughly 4.5 million people, became the second-smallest country to reach a World Cup final behind two-time winners Uruguay.
?? What a welcome for #WorldCup silver medallist in Zagreb. ??#BeProud #CRO #FlamingPride #Vatreni? #Family pic.twitter.com/v0HqUFc8aZ
— HNS | CFF (@HNS_CFF) July 16, 2018
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
