India swept Pakistan aside with seven-wicket win in Ahmedabad - Reuters/Adnan Abidi
Pakistan Hits out at Partisan World Cup Atmosphere after India Thrashing
By Alex Shaw
Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur hit out at the atmosphere during his side’s showdown with India on Saturday, claiming the clash was more akin to a BCCI match than a World Cup encounter.
Hosts India packed out the 130,000 capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and cruised to victory to maintain their perfect start in the Cricket World Cup, winning by seven wickets.
Tournament organizers had waited until India vs Pakistan to showcase the opening ceremony, in what has been claimed as an expression of political power. Pakistan fans and journalists faced delays over their visas for the match, which was played in front of an overwhelmingly partisan Indian crowd.
Afterwards, Arthur expressed his dissatisfaction and said: “Look, I’d be lying if I said. . . it didn’t seem like an ICC event tonight, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight.
“So yes, that does play a role, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse because for us, it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball, and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian players tonight.”
When pressed on the atmosphere and whether it was appropriate for a World Cup, Arthur added: “Look I don’t think I can comment on that just yet. I don’t want to get fined.”
India captain Rohit Sharma said his side treated it like just another game in a long World Cup and said maintaining an unbeaten streak over Pakistan – they’ve never lost a match in the tournament to them – was never on their minds.
“This was an opposition we wanted to play against because we want to play quality opposition,” he said.
“Every opposition we come up against in this tournament is quality and can beat you on any particular day.
“What has happened in the past or might happen in the future doesn’t matter too much. You have to play well on that particular day.” – The Telegraph
