Pakistan captain Babar Azam may be under fire back home in his country but he's receiving the full love and support from his fans in India.
The No.1 ODI batter failed with the bat but won hearts with his captaincy as Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in Match 31 to keep their campaign alive in the ICC World Cup 2023 on Tuesday.
Chasing a modest total of 205, Pakistan raced to victory in 32.3 overs thanks to half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman (81) and Abdullah Shafique (68).
This happened after Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Wasim bagged 3 wickets each to help bowl out Bangladesh for 204 in 45.1 overs.
Fans cheer for Babar & Co.
There was no shortage of support for Babar and his team in Kolkata as the fans turned up in huge numbers to watch Pakistan knock out Bangladesh at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium.
A video of cheers going up for Babar when he came on the big screen at the stadium is going viral on social media.
Babar thanks Indian crowd
Babar also didn't forget to thank his Indian fans for rallying behind his team even after the previous 4 defeats and turmoil within Pakistan cricket.
"All credit to the boys the way we played in all three departments. This win hopefully gives confidence in the coming matches.
"Thanks to the fans for supporting me and my team. We are trying to win the next two matches, we'll see where we stand," Babar said after the match.
He was also seen signing a painting which was made live by a local artist from the city after the match.
Slim chances of qualification
Despite their big win over Bangladesh, Pakistan's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals remain bleak as they will need to win their remaining two games against New Zealand and England but also hope for some of the other results to go their way to stay in contention for the knockouts.
The Men in Green will next face New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on November 4 before coming back to Kolkata for their final group match against the defending champions England on Nov 11.
