Melbourne: It was a disappointing end to the dreams of thousands of Indian fans on Friday. They had all come in cheering at the top of their voices shouting the popular slogan in Hindi that ‘India will win’. Many had worn T-shirts that had the slogan “we will not give it back” printed on it, referring to the World Cup they won in 2011.
All their hopes of seeing India remain world champions got buried in the Sydney Cricket ground. Out of the 42,330 spectators for the match only around 5000 were Australians and hence when nearly 35,000 walked out disappointed, it made even the Australian fans walk out of the ground quietly.
Many Indian fans had spent huge amounts of money to be here from different parts of the world, wanting to see India lift the World Cup again. “I spent close to over Rs 100,000 (Dh6000 approx.) for my trip. Frankly I wouldn’t have come but when India started playing well, I felt confident and booked my ticket,” remarked an IT specialist from Chennai. “In the quarter-final against Bangladesh itself it was evident that they were losing their strength. I am wondering how they could play continuously like this, away from home for four months! I am only 30 days here, and am already home sick,” added another.
Commenting on the length of their tour, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who arrived in Australia in November, remarked: “Another 25 days and we would all be eligible to apply for citizenship here.” Though Dhoni laughed and joked at the press conference, he quickly recovered when asked about his retirement.
Many fans feel that Dhoni tried his best. A teamman to the core, Dhoni was seen offering his business class seat to his fast bowler so that he could stretch. Most internal flights in Australia have very few business class seats, and those are reserved for captains. Dhoni was also praised for having sacrificed his personal life as he hasn’t yet seen his newborn daughter.
At the airport, Indian fans were unusually silent; but debates over the defeat could be heard all around while waiting for the check-in to Melbourne. Many Indian fans, assuming their team would play the final, had booked their return tickets from Melbourne.
Discussions were also on the presence of Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli’s girlfriend, at the match. It seems some television channels and websites have hit out at her for being there and taking Kohli’s focus away from the game. A few blogsites have open letters to the actress reminding her that Tendulkar’s wife Anjali, Ganguly’s wife Dona or Dhoni’s wife Sakshi are rarely seen at stadia.
