Pak vs NZ: From beyond the border and within, Shahid Afridi gets the emotional connect

As Shahid Afridi went on to claim two wickets in his four over spell, fans kept on cheering their favourite "Lala".

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Pakistan and Shahid Afridi had terrific support throughout the match. (Source: Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh)

Though Pakistan ended up losing the game it certainly wasn’t because of lack of support from the stands. Since the time they took the field, Pakistan must have felt at home. As many as 10,000-odd fans, filling up almost eight stands, boisterously rooted for them, with flags and flags-smeared faces. They were as eclectic as it could get on a cricket field, with fans who have crossed the border, some Shahid Afridi fans from from the Kashmir valley and those from the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. (STATS || POINTS TABLE || FIXTURES)

They were duly acknowledged by Pakistan skipper. “Yes a lot of people. Lot of people. They are here from Kashmir as well,” said the Pakistan skipper before the match while talking with the match officials after the toss. His memory must have rolled back to the 2011 World Cup semifinal at the same venue, when supporters of both nations enjoyed the game with the slightest of rancour, but much warmth.

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Maybe, this is the last time they’ll see Shahid Afridi don that green jersey of his. “We have come here to cheer the Pakistan team play and my friends are from Bandipura. Most of us also study here nearby and we had struggled a lot to get the tickets for the match. But we are happy that we got a chance to see Afridi play in probably his last tournament and we will take these memories from here. I am also a fan of Shane Watson and will cheer for him in the next match,” said 21-year-old Amir Majid Dar who had come from Ganderbal in the Valley.

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As Afridi went on to claim two wickets in his four over spell, fans kept on cheering their favourite “Lala”. He had a few fans from Muzaffarnagar in UP as well. “Whenever Afridi plays, my cousins and friends cheer for him but against India, we would cheer for Virat Kohli. Afridi has been a big hitter and we are also fans of his bowling. At the local tournaments, sometimes we ask each other to bowl like Afridi who has taken close to 400 wickets in ODI’s.we came to the stadium in the morning and stood outside the stadium. We are also seeing the India-Australia match at Mohali and have made posters for Virat as well,” shared Mohammed Parvez.

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It’s estimated that nearly 250 visas were issued for Pakistanis, and they were spread out over the normal stands apart from the AC Lounge and Pavillion block. A group had come from Toba Tek Singh Village in Pakistan, a district made famous by Sadat Hassan Manto’s novel. ‘When we tell people here in Chandigarh and Mohali that we are from Toba Tek Singh, people give us hugs and also would not charge any money for the services offered. Manto stood for peace and his writings also still inspire people back home and here too,” shared Aftab Khan, who runs a printing press in Toba Tek Singh.

Another family from Lahore applied for visa last Monday . “It’s like being in Punjab expect from the billboards in English and Punjabi here. People in Lahore too are fans of Virat Kohli. We are also excited about playing holi at our hotel in Chandigarh and would take sarees and sweets from here back home,” said Amna Sheikh, a student of Kinnaird College, Lahore, who had come with her father Sheikh Naeem.

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More

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