From Melbourne to Mauryalok, cricket fans of the city roared after India's emphatic 76-run victory over Pakistan in the first league match of the World Cup.
While Men in Blue were playing at Adelaide, their fans in the city remained glued to TV sets. Post-match, they hit the streets in the evening bursting crackers and breaking into impromptu jigs.
Miles away in Melbourne, a celebration had a Patna connection. Having failed to get the Adelaide match ticket, city resident Sumant Sarvesh (29) watched the game on TV in his living room with buddies.
Working as an associate consultant of Infosys in Melbourne, Sarvesh grew up at Telegraph Colony in the South Mandiri area of the city.
He said: 'My friends and I had planned to visit Adelaide to watch the match between India and Pakistan. But unfortunately, we did not get tickets and we had to watch the match in our living room. However, watching the match on television was equally entertaining. We had brought six speakers to get the feel of the stadium. I am happy that we have maintained the tradition of beating Pakistan in World Cup.'
An excited Sarvesh said he had purchased the ticket for India's next match in Melbourne Cricket Ground against South Africa on February 22.
Back home, cricket fans hit the streets soon after India defeated Pakistan. They burst crackers, smeared gulal on each other and shouted slogans in support of Team India at Kargil Chowk to express their happiness.
The deserted roads in the morning turned into celebration points. People hugged and wished each other.
Patna youth Sumant Sarvesh (right) and his friends watch the match on TV in Melbourne. Telegraph picture
Slogans like ' Jeet gaya bhai jeet gaya, India jeet gaya' reverberated at every square, sporting a deserted look a few hours ago.
The footfall was very low at theatres, parks, restaurants and zoo because of the 'big' match. A person manning the ticket counter of Eco Park looked disappointed over poor sale of tickets on a Sunday.
'Usually, we have to struggle to issue entry tickets on Sundays because of huge rush. But today (on Sunday), the scenario is completely different. There is hardly any crowd,' he said.
Same was the scene in cinemas. The seat occupancy was less than 20 per cent in all the theatres. People preferred to watch the India-Pakistan World Cup match over the Friday release Roy,starring Ranbir Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez.
'Today (on Sunday) there was hardly any crowd. The footfall was almost nil as residents chose to watch the match between India and Pakistan instead of watching movie. On Sundays, the turnout is generally good at our theatre. But it was not same today (on Sunday), 'said chairman-cum-managing director of Regent Theatre Pvt Ltd Suman Kumar Sinha.
Residents burst a flowerpot cracker at Kargil Chowk to celebrate India’s win over Pakistan in the World Cup tie
at the Adelaide Oval. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey
The political turmoil in the state kept former chief minister and JDU leader Nitish Kumar busy throughout the day but he kept a tab on the match score. He was quick to react as soon as India registered victory over Pakistan.
'I congratulate Team India for the spectacular performance in the World Cup opener. I had wished the team good luck on the eve of the match and I am really proud of the performance of our team,' Nitish said.
India's victory forced even the fiercest political rivals to speak in the same language. MLA Manjeet Kumar Singh, a Nitish loyalist, and JDU rebel Sumit Singh congratulated the Men in Blue for their victory. Neither could watch the full match because of political engagements and meetings.
'I watched India's batting and left for a meeting to discuss the February 20 strategy. The way India defeated Pakistan, Nitish ji will defeat Manjhi that day,' said Manjeet.
On the other hand, Sumit said: 'Had it been some other day, I would have watched the full match. But the current political scenario kept me busy in something else.'
