AHMEDABAD: After what was a one-sided loss against India in front of a packed partisan crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur said that the contest did not look like an ICC event and seemed like a bilateral series.
Speaking after the seven-wicket defeat against India, Arthur said, “It didn’t seem like an ICC event. Let’s be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series. It seemed like a BCCI event, I didn’t hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight,” he said when asked about the role the crowd and atmosphere played in the loss.
“So, yes that does play a role but I am not going to use that as an excuse because for us, it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian players tonight,” he added.
Arthur’s reference to the atmosphere does not stem from just the partisan crowd, but often during this WC songs of both teams are played at the venue depending on who takes a wicket or a boundary. In Hyderabad, 'Dil Dil Pakistan' song was played during the two matches they played and even a significant section of the crowd was cheering for Pakistan during the non-India games.
Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn, too, agreed with Arthur when he spoke to the media after the game.
“Naturally, that was going to be the case. There was no familiar music for us today. It did not feel like a World Cup game in all honesty, but we did not expect anything else. We love the occasion, we are disappointed that we didn’t do justice to the occasion really, to our many fans at home and globally,” Bradburn told reporters after the match.
“We are really sad that our supporters aren’t here. They would love to be here and I am sure the Indian cricket fans would love to have our supporters here as well. It was certainly unusual in that way,” he added.
Pakistan have two wins in three games and will play Australia next in Bengaluru on October 20.
