Pakistan team’s director of cricket Mickey Arthur was left with utter disappointment on Saturday following his team’s seven-wicket defeat to India in the 2023 World Cup clash in Ahmedabad.
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After the match, Arthur complained that the atmosphere at the ground did not feel as though it were an ICC event, and instead said that it felt like a bilateral series, seemingly taking a dig at the BCCI.
“Look, I’d be lying if I said… It didn’t seem like an ICC event, tonight, to 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,” Arthur said.
“So yes, that does play a role, but I’m 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, the Indian players tonight,” the 55-year-old said.
Pakistan fans and journalists are still awaiting for their visas to travel to India, and as a result, it meant that the Narendra Modi Stadium would be dominated by a sea of blue.
It was a full house at the stadium, which can accommodate more than 1,30,000 spectators. The stadium was dominated by Indian supporters.
Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn also echoed Arthur’s views, terming the experience as “unusual”.
“Naturally that was going to be the case. We are really sad that our supporters aren’t here, they would love be here and I am sure Indian cricket fans would love our supporters here as well. It was certainly unusual in that way, no familiar music for us today,” Bradburn told News18 CricketNext at the mixed zone after the match.
“So it did not feel like a World Cup game, honestly. We didn’t expect anything else. We love the occasion and we are disappointed that we did not do justice to the occasion or justice to our many fans at home and globally,” added the coach.
After a combined effort from the bowlers to bundled out Pakistan for just 191, Rohit Sharma (86) and Virat Kohli (53*) led India’s chase, as they completed the match in 30.3 overs.
This was India’s eighth win over Pakistan in ODI World Cups, with the Men in Green yet to beat India in the 50-over showpiece event.
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