It really seemed like defending champions India were playing at their backyard when they faced co-hosts Australia yesterday in the second semi-final at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Almost 70% of the 43,000 capacity crowd present at SCG yesterday were Indian supporters. The fact that they outnumbered the Aussie fans was a foregone conclusion, given India’s large community in cities like Sydney and Melbourne. It was no surprise, therefore, when the SCG was reverberating with Indian chants and cheers throughout the entire game.
The home side did receive some support from their legion of fans. However, the most surprising development yesterday happened when the Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Pakistani residents down under started cheering for Michael Clarke’s side.
And when Steve Smith and Aaron Finch were going great guns, the Bangladeshi supporters were having a great time. Wearing the green and gold, they were quite busy waving Australian flags following each boundary and six.
Two such Bangladeshi fans who came to support Australia were Sabbir Ahmed and Humayun Kabir. They were spotted cheering “Aussie, Aussie” loudly outside the stadium. Before the game got underway, they were even riling up thousands of passionate Indian fans who had gathered at the SCG compound.
Sabbir was the more aggressive of the two.
“Actually, I used to support India after Bangladesh in any kind of major tournaments. But, this time I am not supporting them. In fact, I wish they do not reach the final,” said Sabbir. Seeing the final result, Sabbir, who hails from Barisal, will no doubt be over the moon.
“I did not like the body language of the Indian cricketers as they looked pretty arrogant and their supporters were very disrespectful towards,” said Sabbir, alluding to Bangladesh’s quarter-final defeat against the defending champions.
“I was not supposed to watch this game today (yesterday). But, I came to support Australia only to counter the Indian fans as I knew majority of the crowd in this game will be filled with the Indian supporters,” he added.
With the hosts enjoying the support of different nationalities, it was India who looked helpless on the field as Australia racked up 328/7 – their highest total in seven World Cup semi-final appearances – from their 50 overs.
India eventually fell 95 runs short of the target and after clinching the emphatic victory, Aussie skipper Clarke did not forget to appreciate the backing of the fans who, even though were outnumbered, still managed to voice their vociferous support for the four-time world champions.
