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The Times of India
The Times of India
Sport
Avijit Ghosh | TNN

T20 World Cup: Pakistan fans own MCG, but England take the game

MELBOURNE: They flew in from near and far-flung cities of Australia: Perth, Gold Coast, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Some came driving big, shiny cars.

Pakistan's presence in the semifinal, and then final, was serendipitous for most. Many had shelled out exorbitant sums to buy a last-minute air ticket. They had hastily taken leave, bought match tickets and booked expensive hotel rooms to watch their team in the Sunday final against England.

Hours before the game began, MCG was a sea of dark green. The faces were bright with paint and anticipation. Men, women and children dressed in their national colours, waved Pakistan flags. They-shouted, Pakistan zindabad, and posed before home-made posters praising captain Babar Azam. One of the posters also mocked India's semifinal exit. "Hey India, we are back at the MCG, where are you?," it asked.

Pakistanis owned the MCG stands too. Finding a rival fan in the stands could have been turned into a ‘Spot theEnglish Fan' contest. It can safely be estimated that about 90% were Pakistani fans. There were some Australians in the stands too. But who they were rooting for wasn't clear. Some Indians, of course, were supporting Jos Buttler and company, a few openly, others cryptically. You could guess that because whenever a Pakistan wicket fell, the cheers were louder than the number of visible English fans would have emitted.

England controlled Pakistan's batting. Fours and sixes were rationed. Pakistan fans could cheer their team onlyintermittently. But they regained their voices after their bowlers struck back during England's reply. Every time a wicket fell there was a crescendo. They also created a long Mexican wave. But in their core, Pakistan supporters were similar to their Indian counterparts. They made noise when a wicket fell. But fell silent when England took charge. A team doesn't need support in its moments of success, but when the chips are down.

In the end, England were deserving winners. Ben Stokes reaffirmed that he is the greatest match-winner of modern cricket.

Pakistan were lucky finalists. They were beneficiaries of South Africa's nerves and Netherlands' spunk. On Sunday, they fought hard and made a match of a low target. But this time they were at the receiving end of hard luck. Paceman Shaheen Afridi's injury came when Azam's men were taking control of the game and Stokes was still struggling to find his strokes. Even the heavens didn't open up.

(The writer is in Australia at the invitation of booking.com)

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