Soaking within the environment: Spectators had a nice time cheering for his or her favorite crew in a keenly contested match.
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
Afghanistan delivered in opposition to Pakistan, and so did the Chepauk crowd to finish the spectacle.
How would it have felt to be among the many followers when two of India’s neighbours, identified for his or her fierce rivalry, performed one another in a high-stakes World Cup match?
Here’s the reply. Rather, a perspective biased in the direction of scenes captured from the ‘J’ stand within the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium by means of the ebbs and flows of a match that noticed Hashmatullah Shahidi’s males conquer Babar Azam’s aspect by eight wickets.
There have been no Monday blues for the Chennai crowd, 23,284-strong, as it was a red-letter day within the calendar to have a good time the auspicious Ayudha pooja.
The spectators, who sang alongside and appreciated the taking part in of the Dil Dil Pakistan track throughout the Fan Juke Box phase throughout the innings break, additionally made certain they acquired the Afghan outfit with applause and cheers when it lapped the stadium after the memorable win. It was paying homage to 1999 when this similar crowd showered their love on the Pakistan crew when it pipped India in a thriller of a Test match. Scenes that underline why Chepauk stands out.
The individuals had equal love for anybody’s sport they preferred on the sector and had no qualms in voicing that affection on the prime of their voices.
The day started with Babar getting a loud cheer when he gained the toss and determined to bat. There was an elevated model of the cheer when the skipper got here to the crease with the stadium reverberating to the grooving music of Karuppu Vellai from Vikram Vedha to match the hype of the person. A row of followers with Babar’s title on their jerseys stood up and danced to the tunes of the match’s official track Dil Jashn Bole as he crashed his first ball to the boundary line.
With Eagles taking a spherical above the Marina seaside, one may see a line of Kiwis’ jerseys contained in the stadium, largely bearing the No. 22 of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson which could’ve been purchased when the aspect performed its video games in the identical floor in opposition to Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The followers began settling in and waited eagerly for his or her heroes’ arrival on the boundary line. The first occasion of Rashid Khan coming to the fence had a fanatic bunch lovingly badgering him to look again and wave. Peeche dekho, peeche (Look behind, behind) a child in his college uniform bawled. One of the followers even persevered with Azmatullah Omarzai to throw a water bottle to the stands for them to drink, and he obliged, creating a cult-hero determine of the man who obtained the memento. The Indians within the crowd have been particularly inquisitive about taking selfies with him and different Afghan nationals.
The fly-on-the-wall tag shortly began fading away as the adrenaline kicked in with Noor Ahmed claiming two fast wickets to maintain the prolific Pakistan batters at bay. There was a appreciable variety of followers from Afghanistan within the stadium, all draped proudly of their black-red-green shades. The chants began getting louder and louder, which led to a crew of Pakistan supporters altering their seats to close the ‘Afghan club’. This resulted in a couple of spirited phrases being exchanged by every faction, all avidly captured by the concerned crowd. The police discovered it simply above tolerable and requested a number of the followers to return to their unique seats. “Fair enough,” stated a gentleman within the background, taking a break from sipping his cool Cola.
The Pakistan innings ended with a swashbuckling cameo from Iftikhar Ahmed and the followers chanting maar, maar Iftikhar (hit, hit, Iftikhar). The Afghanistan caucus knew it was going to be powerful after the late surge, however that didn’t preserve them from believing of their aspect.
“Bowling kharab hua end mein, lekin chase kar sakte hein,” (Bowling was unhealthy in the long run, however it is chaseable) stated an Afghan nationwide, now dwelling in Mysuru, in a conventional Perahan and Tunban.
As the solar descended on the horizon, the sizzle of the Cola began making method for the steam of the tea with Afghanistan’s scorching pursuit gaining momentum just like the night breeze from the Bay of Bengal.
The openers began effectively and the crowd opened up once more as the DJ, who deserves a shoutout for holding the followers engaged, orchestrated the Mexican wave to perfection.
With all of the discuss of India’s neighbours taking part in in Chennai doesn’t imply that the passionate crowd forgot about their aspect’s probabilities within the quadrennial occasion. “India ithu varaikum first batting panale machaa, athu konjam risk thaa,” (India hasn’t batted first but within the match bro, which has its dangers) stated a teenager together with his eyes set on the large display exhibiting highlights of Virat Kohli’s 95 in opposition to New Zealand at Dharamshala.
Afghanistan had the chase beneath management however the spectators went uncontrolled when the coliseum was lit up by their cellphones’ flashlights shifting in a synchronised method.
A foreshadowing of how the vitality ranges could be when the chase finally led to a rousing success. The fulfilment of a day effectively spent for a cricket fan was attained when the Afghan outfit managed to beat Pakistan for the primary time ever in ODIs.
Politics being within the combine when two nations with a lot of historical past play a high-octane match is a given. However, for the Chepauk crowd, the day was about having fun with the sport of cricket and the fortunate lot would have left the cauldron with nothing however reminiscences to cherish.
