ICC World Cup: Cricket fans in Chandigarh disheartened

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, November 19

A disheartened Rishabh Gulati (23) packs a box of crackers that he bought before Diwali “to celebrate India’s victory in the World Cup”. He was not alone in the sea of sorrow, as Australia logged a six-wicket win over hosts India in Ahmedabad to win the 2023 ICC World Cup today.

Hundreds of fans, who were wearing blue T-shirts to cheer for the Indian team, were seen returning home with a sad face. “This is not the end we expected. Nevertheless, Australia played well and deserved this title. I think, India needed a stable partnership for this match,” said Gulati. “I bought a separate box of crackers for celebrating India’s winning moment. It got wasted.”

“The Indian batters could have played better to win this match. The expectations were very high and everyone was wishing for Indian team’s win. I wish this jinx of losing ICC tournaments broke soon,” said Aman, a spectator who watched the match live on a big screen at the Sector 22 market.

Many fans had installed big screens to watch the match at Sector 22, 17, 19, 45 and also at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium.

The scene on the Panjab University Campus was no different as youngsters were really disheartened. “We got special permission to watch this match from common room. I expected this to be a one-sided affair, but Australian batters chased down the target in a very calm manner,” said Anoop, a campus student.

“Usually, we watch live streaming on mobile phones, but for the final, we organised a special event at the common room. It was a good cricket and overall, the Australia team played well,” said Rashi, another student.