Cricket fever: Seas of orange celebrate ‘past bedtime’

Thin traffic observed on the streets as Islooites throng public screenings to watch the PSL finale

ISLAMABAD: A roar of joy went up across the capital as Faheem Ashraf smashed Wahab Riaz for a six to help Islamabad United clinch the third edition of the Pakistan Super League on Sunday evening.

While the team was playing over 1,000 kilometres away in Karachi, residents of the capital were not one to be left out of the action.

Decked out in jerseys of their team, fans gathered at dozens of screenings in the city.



Cheering for their team, Islooites remained glued to TV screens as they cheered their team on against Peshawar Zalmi, belying the old joke that the capital goes to bed early. Here, the celebrations continued well into the morning.

The calmness on the capital’s roads and lower than the usual rush in the markets was palpable in the afternoon as the Islooites readied for the big game.

One commuter told The Express Tribune that usually there is a rush on Murree Road towards Bhara Kahu on the weekends as many visit the hill station, but the traffic was visibly thin on Sunday.

“Little traffic is heading to Murree on a Sunday, this must be because of the PSL final,” she said.

Big screens were arranged at a number of public places, restaurants and cafes where the game was screened live.

Public screenings were held in Sector F-6 in front of the press club, the Centaurus Mall, Diamond Cricket Ground in Sector G-8, DHA-II and several other places.



Several cafes and eateries in the capital had also arranged big screens to screen the match live.

Seas of orange could be seen rising and falling with the tumults of the match. Often arguing with the clumps of Zalmi supporters in yellow.

The National Press Club also organised screening and dinner for journalists and their families, while the opposition group in the press club held their own screening and dinner in front of the press club.

However, apart from turning up at the public screenings, the Islooites also took to social media to support their favourite team.

Curiously, a sizeable number of them supporting Peshawar.

As the Islooites watched the game, they also felt the absence of an international level cricket stadium in the capital. “We should have a state-of-the-art international cricket stadium in Islamabad. It is high time the city managers and the government thought about it,” said Muhammad Saleem, a resident.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2018.