Chittagong,a far cry from Mirpur

Hundreds of cricket aficionados gathered outside the West Indies team hotel the Pan Pacific - to apologise for their unruly behaviour.

A day after fans vented their anger,first on the West Indies team bus,which the police claim was a case of mistaken identity,and then pelted stones at the Bangladesh cavalcade,bouquets were presented to Shakib Al Hasan,while Darren Sammy was greeted pleasantly by a motley bunch of Bangladeshis.

On Sunday,hundreds of cricket aficionados gathered outside the West Indies team hotel the Pan Pacific 8211; to apologise for their unruly behaviour. The pouring of support,a stark contrast from the dark night on Friday,was triggered by a fan-based website which generated support through social-networking sites.

8220;Please send flowers to the West Indies Cricket team staying at the hotel. No need to make any statement. The flowers will be message enough. Please copy/paste this as your status update,call as many people you know in Dhaka,and ask them to do the same. Let8217;s do this!8221; said a post on the website.

Chris Gayle,who was aghast after the attack and made his feelings clear on twitter,didn8217;t turn up to greet the fans the more level-headed ones rather than the impulsive,fickle thousands at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium but Sammy did.

Al Hasan should be pleased,like he said after the humiliating loss to West Indies,to move to Chittagong,the second largest city in this country which is famous for its ancient port. The people here,exposed to various cultures thanks to the diverse traders who embarked on this port city,are said to be more forgiving when the Tigers lose but there won8217;t be any let up in the passion.

Must win games for the hosts

The lane leading to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium has been spruced up with a fresh coat of paint. A hoarding at the entrance that reads,8217;Our guests can have anything they want. Except the World Cup8217;,will greet the England team when they arrive here for the game on March 11. The Tigers slipped into the city late on Saturday evening. Rest assured,as they begin to put together their tattered World Cup dreams,they will find groups of friendlier fans watching them train at this stadium.

They need to win two out of their last three games against England,Holland and South Africa,to have any chance of progressing. Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud feels the team should concentrate for the next game now. 8220;Whatever has happened is past now. We played badly. Losing and winning is part of the game but no one expects to lose in such a way. That is why the fans reacted in such a manner. But there is a five-day gap before the next match. Our fans here can be impulsive but they can be forgiving too. Shakib and his boys need to win the next game and the whole country will once again back the boys,8221; Mahmud said.

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Al Hasan,more than anyone else,will know how unforgiving the doting thousands are when things don8217;t go the Tigers8217; way.