Pakistan, Australia find equal support among city followers

June 20: India may have gone out of the cricket World Cup but Indian fans sat rooted to their television sets on Sunday watching the fina...

June 20: India may have gone out of the cricket World Cup but Indian fans sat rooted to their television sets on Sunday watching the final between Pakistan and Australia.

Celebrations were reported in Parel and Worli with fans bursting crackers everytime a Pakistan wicket fell and when the match was decided in Australia8217;s favour. Australia won the World Cup final by eight wickets but the support was not wholly for Australia as Express Newsline later found out.

An 18-year-old girl from Khar, who chose to be anonymous said, 8220;I support Australia. They are a good team and after the South Africa match, I want them to win. Upar se war bhi chal rahi hai8230; above that, there is a war in progress..,8221; she said, explaining her lack of support for Pakistan.

Manish Grampurohit a 23-year-old software engineer with JM Baxi Shipping treds the same path. 8220;My support is for Australia. They are definetely the better of the two sides and their performances off-late are a testimony to this fact.8221;

MyronFernandes, 28, bank employee from Andheri favoured Australia, because they were a good team. As for Pakistan winning he said despite the Kargil war, there should be no politics in sport.

Neil Misquitta, 21, a college student from Vile Parle, said Australia deserved to win because they were a good fighting side and their semi-final victory over South Africa showed it.

Their fighting spirit found another supporter in Richard Santiago, a student from Vile Parle, who joined Misquitta in backing a winner. 8220;Because Australia have fought back and won their last six matches, I knew they would win the Cup. Also, I did not like the fact that Pakistan had become over-confident.8221;

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If pro-Australia feelings ran high, there were some anti-Pakistan too. Like Simi, a 26-year-old school teacher from Ghatkopar, who expressed support for Australia saying, 8220;Pakistan should not win. Not because of the war, but I just don8217;t want Pakistan to win. I don8217;t like the way Wasim Akram speaks, they are tooproud.8221;

Vidyasagar Puthran, however, begs to differ. 8220;I would have definitely supported Pakistan after India8217;s ouster. But now, with the war on in Kargil, I am firmly behind Australia,8221; he said. His opinion was vindicated after Pakistan scored just 132.

But while Aussie fans celebrate, Pakistan fans are bound to be despondent. Zafar Hussain, a compounder at Bhindi Bazar is a Pakistan supporter, though in his heart, he was certain Australia would win. 8220;Pakistan humaara padosi hai, to uney jeetna chahiye. Pakistan are our neighbours, so they should win. But Australia have been bowling and batting better.8221;

Uttam Wadhwani, a 52-year-old sea food exporter from Deonar, echoed Zafar8217;s sentiments. He said, 8220;If India doesn8217;t win, it should be Pakistan, as they are from the sub-continent. But luck is riding with Australia.8221;

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For Wadhwani, the war in Kargil did not deter his support for Pakistan. 8220;What has Kargil got to do with this? This is a game.8221;

Aditya Singh said: 8220;Pakistan play together as ateam, and they perform when it matters. They have the best bowling attack, the best off-spinner8230;8221;

8220;Today, though, has been a disappointment, a great let-down. Nothing is going their way. They8217;ve lost it. But my support for Pakistan is limited to cricket. Just that,8221; added the production assistant.

Sneha Deshpande, though rooted for Australia, felt bad at the end of the final. 8220;Not because Australia won, but because of the way Pakistan lost. I felt sorry for them because they are a good team and Akram is a good captain.8221;