India Thump Pakistan in Supercharged Narendra Modi Stadium
Intensely politicized gathering and high level of national fervor make it difficult for young Pakistanis to do their best
After Shreyas Iyer scored the winning runs, the more than 1.20 lakh scattered fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium burst into a rendition of AR Rahman's Vande Mataram while holding the national flag. The nearly full stadium became agitated as it echoed through the stands.
On Saturday it was difficult to remain impartial. The Babar Azam squad never thought it would hit them so hard—they had expected a sea of blue to overwhelm the stadium. 'Bharat mata ki jai' is constantly yelled, much to the dismay of the guests.
The intensely politicized gathering and the high level of national fervor made it difficult for the young Pakistanis to do their best. In situations like this, experience matters, and the Pakistanis simply withered away.
They started off strong but fell apart quickly when Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah made the breakthroughs.
The players and support personnel lamented the absence of Pakistani supporters, even if Babar did encounter some negative behavior from the spectators during the toss. There were, roughly speaking, very few Pakistanis at the pitch; eleven were in the commentary and media boxes.
There were a few other Pakistani supporters in the stands, most of them with British or American passports, in addition to the now-familiar sight of Bashir chacha. Still, there weren't many occasions for them to be happy.
An individual standing on the sides periodically waved a "Pakistan jeetega" flag, although more as a sign of cohesion after being ordered to do so by the police.
If I claimed it didn't (have any affect), I would be lying. To be blunt, it didn't seem like an ICC event. It appeared to be a BCCI tournament and a bilateral series. Mickey Arthur, the coach of Pakistan, remarked at the press conference, "I didn't hear 'dil dil Pakistan' coming through the microphones too often tonight."
"Yes, that is a factor, but I won't use that as a justification because for us, the most important things were enjoying the moment, the next ball, and our strategy for dealing with the Indian players."
When asked if that was the perfect environment to hold a World Cup match of such caliber, Arthur tactfully withheld his response.
Large billboards advertising the January 2024 "Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024" were positioned along the walls next to the stadium's entrance gates.
On the field, it was the tale of a dynamic cricket team carrying out their plans with efficiency and deadly precision. With their pride intact, they're going to keep moving forward and reaching new heights.
