The second semi-final on Thursday plunged the whole Dubai International Stadium into a gloom. Except for a few Australian fans, the majority of the crowd was Pakistan fans who walked out terribly disappointed after their team’s dream run came to an end.

So upset were most of them that even the Australians did not have the heart to celebrate.

Many Pakistan supporters had come wearing T-shirts proudly displaying “152 for 0” and “24-10-21” — their winning score on the day of the World Cup campaign opener against India. The Australians, decked up in their team’s sleeveless jersey, kept flexing their muscles since they knew to cheer louder than the vociferous Pakistan fans was impossible.

In fact an Australia fan with a booming voice would wait for the cheering from the Pakistan fans to die down to then shout: “Come on Aussies, keep going.”

Warner’s bat

David Warner came out with his bat that had a “DSC” sticker on it. He is one of the many batsmen who use the India-based Delux Sports Company (DSC) bats. When he walked off despite not having edged the ball, many comments started floating around. “Maybe it is a creaky bat and that's what he mistook as a snick,” a spectator said, while another remarked that it could be that the opener’s moustache twitched at that point taking his concentration away.

Finch’s score

When Australia skipper Aaron Finch got out for a duck, a statistician pointed out that it was his fifth single-digit score against Pakistan in T20Is in the UAE, with the highest being 5. Hearing this, a journalist commented that Finch should try and join some local clubs in the UAE and play domestic cricket.

When Adam Zampa began to bowl, an Australian fan said he was a silent killer. A quick response followed: “Then it’s time for Pakistan batsmen to kill him.”