Pakistan fans were thrilled when their team elected to bat first against Scotland at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Many Indians too turned up for the Sharjah match, while the Afghanistan-New Zealand match — the decider of India’s fate in the World Cup — was in progress in Abu Dhabi. After New Zealand beat Afghanistan by eight wickets, knocking India out, a spectator in Sharjah sarcastically said the Indian team could now take a Kabul-Delhi flight back home.

At Sharjah, Scotland opened their bowling attack with left-arm spinner Hamza Tahir, who is of Pakistan descent and the cousin of Majid Haq, one of Scotland’s top players. Haq also played in two T20 World Cups while Tahir made his T20I debut against Pakistan in 2018.

Although when Babar Azam hit a six out of the stadium and Mohammad Hafeez hit another into the roof of the stadium, one spectator cheekily said: “One is for the road and the second one is for the roof.”

Whistling star

Whistles and horns are not permitted at the Sharjah stadium but some spectators can whistle so loudly that almost everyone can hear it. Leading the whistlers in the crowd on Sunday was a woman whose skills were lauded by everyone around her.

She could even whistle to the tune of the often-chanted phrase “Pakistan jeetega (Pakistan will win)”. Many Pakistan fans who could not afford to buy tickets were cheering for the team from outside the stadium and captain Babar Azam obliged them by hitting Mark Watt out of the stadium.

A curious fan wanted to know whether insurance companies would bear the cost of a car that was damaged by a shot from the stadium. An Indian fan jokingly replied that the bill should be sent to the Pakistan team.

A Scotland fan in the VIP lounge remarked that if the Tartan Army — the fans’ title for the Scotland football team— were in the UAE, that would be a match for the Pakistan fans.

72 times better

When Shaheen Shah Afridi, after bowling Michael Leask out, did his usual celebration by pointing both arms towards the sky, many spectators imitated him from their seats. While leaving, a fan wanted to know what did the match prove. Before anyone could answer, he replied: “Pakistan won by 72 runs and hence 72 times better than Scotland!”