Team India defeated Pakistan in a crucial match of the World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi International Cricket Stadium. The cricket lovers expected it to be an intense match, but it turned out to be one-sided with team Pakistan failing to put a big score on board. However, Mickey Arthur, the director of the Pakistan cricket team, acknowledged the overwhelmingly pro-Indian crowd but refrained from using it as an excuse for the team's loss.
The official count of the crowd size at the Ahmedabad cricket stadium on Saturday remained undisclosed, but it could be somewhere between 115,000 to 125,000, and as both teams took the field for the national anthems, the majority was clad in blue, fervently welcoming their respective teams. In this context, Arthur stated, I'd be lying if I said it did not affect us. It didn't seem like an ICC event, 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. But I'm not going to use that as an excuse."
The scarcity of green-clad supporters in the stands can be attributed, in part, to the challenges Pakistani fans faced in obtaining visas for the tournament. Even Pakistan's media contingent experienced difficulties in securing visas for their personnel. This scenario sharply contrasts with past instances, such as the 2016 global tournament hosted by India and the 2011 World Cup, where the BCCI facilitated over 6,500 visas for Pakistani fans traveling to the Mohali semi-final alone. Pakistan's head coach, Grant Bradburn, echoed similar sentiments, expressing regret that the absence of their supporters and the overwhelming presence of Indian fans had resulted in an unusual atmosphere.