RAWALPINDI: It seems captain Azhar Ali’s prediction about crowd came true on Friday as the opening day of the first Pakistan-Bangladesh Test saw a significant number of fans witness the action at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Chanting national slogan Pakistan Zindabad, the charged up crowd in various enclosures enjoyed the Test on a bright sunny day, applauding the home pacers who dismissed the tourists for a paltry 233, while also appreciating the good shots played by some of the Bangladesh batsmen.

In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Azhar had expressed his appreciation for Rawalpindi fans.

The Pakistan captain had underlined that during the final day of the last Test match staged at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and, a sizeable crowd despite knowing that there would be no result due to inclement weather, came in big numbers to watch the match.

Azhar at the same time had predicted that a large crowd will again witness the Pakistan-Bangladesh Test match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.Nasir Khan, a resident of Sadiqabad, Rawalpindi said he felt very good to see international match being played in his home city.

“You know we are cricket crazy. I feel very good to see my favourite cricketers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi in action,” he said.

Another fan Mohammad Alyas said dashing Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal was his favourite player. “Seeing Tamim in action here in Rawalpindi really delighted me. I wish he could score runs and strike boundaries in the second innings,” Alyas said, and recalled that when Sri Lanka played the Test match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium to restore Test cricket in Pakistan last December, bad weather marred the action.“For this Test however, the weather is awesome. You can enjoy the match with friends while basking,” he said.

A police official, requesting anonymity, said he noticed that fans who were conscious about international conspiracies while Pakistan had been deprived of international cricket for over a decade, were fully cooperating with the law enforcement agencies.

“This is a very good sign, it shows how much Pakistani people love sports,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2020