As all entrances to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium were crowded with fans waving the Pakistan national flag, it almost seemed like they had taken over the arena ahead of the team’s match against New Zealand on Tuesday. Chants of “Pakistan jeetega (Pakistan will win)” could be heard well before the first ball was bowled.

Pakistan’s emphatic win over arch-rivals India on Sunday is likely to have attracted several fans, who would have otherwise had no plans of watching Tuesday’s World Cup match. As a result, nearly 10,000 tickets got sold out, and the sale had increased after Sunday.

Sharjah stadium officials even opened ticket booths nearby, while tickets were only available online before the ICC T20 World Cup began.

Fans’ adoration

In the late eighties and nineties, the majority of the taxi drivers here were Pakistanis, and Sharjah cricket fans adore the name Afridi. Earlier, there often used to be a taxi shortage because most of the Pakistanis would be at the stadium to watch Shahid Afridi in action and cheer their hero on. Since Shahid announced his retirement from international cricket, there has been a sharp fall in Afridi’s appearance here, except when the Pakistan Super League and T10 tournaments were held here.

But now there’s another Afridi on the block — Shaheen Shah Afridi. And with his rise, especially after his great match-winning spell against India the other day, Sharjah cricket fans have another Afridi to cheer for at last. It also helps that Shaheen celebrates exactly the same way as Shahid Afridi did after taking a wicket — spreading his arms towards the sky.

New rivals

The ICC put up a huge “Cricket4 Good” billboard at the stadium as part of its outreach programme aimed at leveraging cricket’s vast power and reach to positively impact the lives of children and families worldwide.

A Pakistan fan, who was disappointed about New Zealand and England not touring Pakistan, said if nations come and play cricket in the country, then cricket shall be “4Good” and remain good.

Unlike India-Pakistan, there wasn’t any rivalry between Pakistan and New Zealand. So, once the Black Caps pulled out of their series versus Pakistan, it made them their angry rivals.

Cup flies high

When Fakhar Zaman hit a huge six on Tuesday, Emirates airline’s “Fly Better” advertisement appeared. Truly, the speed with which the ball flew out of the stadium the fans would have surely been happy. The shot was like a take-off from the middle.

Since Emirates is one of the sponsors, the World Cup was displayed at their office a

few hours before Tuesday’s games. Kuzhikkatt Sreekumaranunni, a licensed aircraft engineer at Emirates in Dubai, who posed near the World Cup, said: “It does not matter who wins the T20 World Cup, today it is with us at Emirates.”