Cuttack, Feb. 3: Odisha knows how to welcome her guests. That was the message cricket fans here sent out as they cheered gustily for Pakistan during their Sunday match against New Zealand at Barabati Stadium.

The Pakistan’s women’s cricket team received a warm response here in spite of ongoing protests.

Hundreds of cricket enthusiasts, mostly youngsters, were cheering for the team despite their poor performance against New Zealand at Barabati Stadium today.

Though it was hoped that the Pakistan team would put up a good show after their defeat against Australia on Friday, the team was bundled out for just 104 runs today.

The spectators were seen cheering every single run being scored by the Pakistan team that had initially lost five wickets with only 53 runs on the board.

Despite a low-scoring game, a little over 2,500 spectators thronged Barabati Stadium to watch the match against the turnout of 1,500 spectators on Friday.

Odisha Cricket Association officials said the stadium registered an increase in the number of spectators, as it was a holiday today. The match was won by New Zealand, which defeated Pakistan by seven wickets.

“We had come all the way from Sambalpur to watch the Pakistan team players, especially their skipper Sana Mir, who has a charming personality,” said Rajat Singh, 23, a spectator.

According to Singh, a lot of other fans in the gallery were cheering for the Pakistan team, which would be provided with the right kind of hospitality here in Odisha.

“We had brought a lot of placards to cheer on the Pakistan team, whose morale seems to be low following the protests against them in the city. But because of security reasons, we were not allowed to carry them inside the stadium,” said Hrudaya Ranjan Shah, another cricket enthusiast.

A lot of other cricket fans have lauded the efforts of the Odisha Cricket Association for agreeing to play host to the Pakistan tem as their participation in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup was earlier uncertain.

The cricket association has made accommodation provisions for the Pakistan team players inside the Barabati Stadium complex because of security concerns.

Over 47 platoons of police have also been deployed for the smooth conduct of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Group-B matches that are being played at Barabati and Driems stadium ground at Tangi.

“Being a cricket lover, I want to say that whoever comes to play in Cuttack should be treated well. It is the responsibility of all to welcome the players whatever be their nationality,” said Chandrasekhar Chandan, a spectator.

It was not just Pakistan, the New Zealand team too had a quite good fan following at the stadium.

“It’s a holiday, so I had come to cheer the New Zealand team with my two children,” said Pavitra Mohan Pradhan, a resident of Cuttack.