It had been almost seven years since an international game was held at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah and the locals, starved for so long, responded accordingly as the stadium was packed to the rafters to watch the third and final ODI between Bangladesh and New Zealand yesterday. The result would have pleased the crowd as well as Bangladesh chased down over 300 to win the match by four wickets and complete a series whitewash.
The roads leading towards the stadium were lined with colorfully attired fans, who welcomed the teams into the ground and chanted the names of their favourite players. The stadium, which holds 25,000, could not contain the demand and thousands of fans who could not get a ticket, gathered outside the ground to cheer their side on.
One such fan was student Mohammed Sohel, who said, “I was not lucky enough to buy a ticket as you know it was like gold to us. We don’t often see any international matches over here so I didn’t want to miss the chance to at least cheer for my country. I tried to get a glimpse of Nasir, Mushfiq, Rubel by standing next to the partition wall of the stadium.”
With the last international fixture in Fatullah having been an ODI between Bangladesh and Australia, excitement for yesterday’s match would have been high in any case but there was an extra edge of anticipation for the people of Narayanganj as “Banglawash” was on the cards.
As events turned out, the team did not disappoint and for the people of Fatullah, it turned out to be something worth waiting for.