The much-touted avowal of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ appeared to be furthest from the minds of the spectators at the Narendra Modi stadium,who were exercising their privilege of viewing the World Cup cricket final between India and Australia, on Sunday.
The manner in which they conducted themselves has become a talking point in the international sports fraternity. Clearly, most onlookers at the stadium were striving to win the World Cup for the Most Abominable Audience.
The event was billed as a world-class one, yet the crowd was painfully partisan, displaying nary a shred of grace as befits a home crowd when a guest team is playing on their turf. It was entirely forgotten that the match was being held in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and in a stadium bearing his name. The gleeful yells and applause each time an Indian batsmen scored was in stark contrast to the drop-dead silence when the Australians did so.
Jai Shri Ram Chants By Crowd
At the beginning of the match in a stadium packed to capacity, the Hanuman Chalisa was being recited, provoking comparisons to the India-Pakistan encounter in October, wherein chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, had rent the air.
Unsurprisingly, after this blatant display, no sooner was it evident that the outcome was a fait accompli than the spectators began leaving in droves. By the time the prize-giving ceremony began, most of the crowd had already exited the stadium. Another major faux pas at the trophy presentation was that after handing over the trophy to the Australian captain Pat Cummins, PM Modi hastily left the dais along with the Australian guests, to greet the rest of the winning team.
It was an awkward moment, with Cummins left alone on the podium, holding the trophy and much to his consternation, being rewarded with the glimpse of a retreating Modi.
Australian Media Slams Indian Crowd At World Cup Final
Australia’s leading news site, news.com.au has put out a story on the final, titled, ‘Show dignity: Crowd act ends World Cup with sour taste’, saying that a ‘pathetic’ act at the end of the Cricket World Cup has sparked outrage, with the world turning on those responsible.
The most shocking act, according to the report, was when on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Richard Illingworth were called to the podium to receive their mementos – only to be booed by what remained of the crowd, for no apparent reason. The host crowd pointedly ignored Travis Head’s extraordinary 137 off 120 balls, when he raised his bat, the report states.
As if this boorish display was not enough, some zealous Indian fans went to Instagram posts by Head and trolled him, not even sparing his wife and one-year-old baby.
