‘Pakistan jeetayga’ in Mohali!

MOHALI, India: When India tamed Pakistan in their World Cup 2011 semi-final, the hosts were backed all the way by a packed crowd at the PCA Stadium.

There were chants of ‘India jeetayga, Pakistan harega’ from start to finish as MS Dhoni and his men trumped the visitors to reach the final.

On Tuesday, ‘Pakistan harega’ chants were reversed as a sizeable crowd raised slogans of ‘Pakistan jeetayga’  encouraging the green-shirts to beat New Zealand and stay alive in the World Twenty20 championship.

“When they are not playing against Pakistan, I support Pakistan,” said Jaspal, a young taxi driver who traces his roots to a small village near Narowal.

While many locals were backing Pakistan, Afridi and Co also received a vocal support from hundreds of their compatriots who had mostly crossed the Wagah border to support the national team. There were also many overseas Pakistanis, who had come from USA, Canada, England and UAE and many other countries to watch the match. Many of them would stay back to see Pakistan compete against Australia in Mohali on Friday.