“A bond of love”: Pakistan wins the World Cup with a record cheer from the Indian crowd. At Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the audience erupted in cheers and sang a well-known Pakistani catchphrase midway through Pakistan’s run chase in their ICC Cricket World Cup encounter against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
They erupted in unison, “Jeetay ga bhaee jeetay ga, Pakistan jeetay ga [Pakistan will win],” at the DJ’s cue.
The nearly full house applauded as Pakistani captain Babar Azam took the field and when his teammate Mohammad Rizwan led them home with a valiant century.
After the Tuesday game, Rizwan beamingly told reporters, “We felt like we were [playing] at home because of the way the crowd showered us with love.”
Since their arrival over two weeks ago, Pakistan has been based in south India. When the team from across the border arrived at the airport, sizable crowds gathered to welcome them.
When asked about his team’s reception, the Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman responded, “The way people welcomed us at the airport and then chanted for us while we were on the ground-it left us speechless.” “With the people here, we have formed a love bond.”
Videos on the social networking site X, which was once known as Twitter, showed the audience cheering enthusiastically as Pakistan won.
“It seemed like I was playing in Pindi, with the audience so close to the ground and roaring so loudly,” Rizwan joked, alluding to Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s small cricket stadium.
In pursuit of a target of 345 runs, Rizwan stepped on to bat after his team lost their leader and best batsman in the eighth over.
Together with Abdullah Shafique, the opening batsman, he struck 176 runs, and with ten balls remaining, he delivered the winning run to his team.
The 31-year-old’s cramping hindered his batting as he scored 131 runs on 121 balls.Rizwan did not meet the goal set for him by local ground staff, even though he scored the highest ever in an ODI match.
