Be ‘Afraid’ of Afridi

 By K.R. Nayar

Dubai.  The scenes, both, on and off the field during an India-Pakistan match are unique. Even walking into an India-Pakistan match is different from other matches. As one walked into the Dubai International Stadium, there were thousands of fans from both teams waving their country's flags on the road and cheering for their team.  Read on...

This story published in The Telegraph, India

Be afraid of Afridi

After Shaheen Afridi trapped Rohit Sharma leg before and also clean bowled K L Rahul, fans waved a banner “Be Afraid of Afridi.”  A few from the crowd shouted ‘Fire Afridi, fire’.  The two quick wickets silenced almost all Indian supporters while the Pakistan fans danced in joy.  Afridi has a special connection with the UAE. He made his Test and One Day International debut from Abu Dhabi in 2018. He has also produced some great spells when the Pakistan Super League was held here. When India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who is addressed as SKY, got out in the sixth over, a journalist remarked, "It looks like the sky is coming crashing down on India."

Ritwik Sen

‘Watching a live India Pakistan match is priceless’

Being present amidst a packed Dubai International Stadium is a great experience. There were fans willing to pay any amount to get a seat and it is understood that there were offers to pay even Dh 10,000 for an ordinary ticket.  A Kolkata born cricket fan and a Dubai based banker Ritwik Sen, who managed to buy his ticket online before it got sold out, said: “I had requests from people willing to give me four times the money for my ticket, but I was not willing to part with my ticket. Watching an India-Pakistan match live is priceless.”  Sen has never missed watching an India-Pakistan match live except when the World Cup was held in South Africa.

Pakistan fans who missed the match

Cheerleaders from both countries were seen hogging the limelight and television channels were seen hovering around them. Many Pakistan fans had worn green shirts with the words: “I love Pakistan” written on it. Indian fans had outnumbered the Pakistan fans given that the Indian team seemed more strong on paper than Pakistan, and maybe Pakistan fans were not very sure of a win. Former UAE opener and coach Arshad Ali who hails from Sialkot, Pakistan, said: “I went for the match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the Sharjah stadium in the afternoon, but watched the India-Pak contest on television and enjoyed every moment of the victory.”

Indian fans made this poster before the start

Babar snatches 'Captain Awesome' tag from Kohli

Both, Indian captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam cracked half-centuries.  Though Kohli’s half-century went in vain, he has become the batsman with most half-centuries in T20 World Cup through his 10th fifty-plus knock yesterday to beat Chris Gayle’s record of nine half-centuries. Before the match, Indian fans had created a poster with pictures of both captains and labelling Virat Kohli as 'Captain Awesome' vs ‘Captain Azam’. However, after the victory, the Pakistan fans immediately interchanged the captions.  Meanwhile, a disappointed Indian fan put out a poster: “I spent AED 700 for my ticket… one wicket please.”

 


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