Drought-breaking cricket win gets positive spin in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD — The 600 people of the Dawoodi bohra community were supposed to be gathering to have food together in a hall soon after breaking a 15 1/2 -hour fast on Sunday.
Instead, those who gathered at the religious centre in Rawalpindi delayed the food in order to watch Pakistan’s historic win over India at the Champions Trophy on a giant TV screen. For them, and for millions of people across Pakistan, the taste of victory was sweet.
“You can expect anything from only one cricket team in the world and that is Pakistan,” Ali Abbas Mandosarwala, who was at the centre with his wife, two sons and a daughter, said as India was bowled out for 158 and lost the final by a margin of 180 runs.
“Honestly I wasn’t expecting Pakistan to go beyond the group stage,” he added, reflecting on the unpredictable nature of the national team, “but the young players have shown there’s nothing impossible in this world.”