Drums, sweets, cars on streets: Dubai NRIs revel in Pakistan’s T20 defeat

There was cheering, a lot of joy, some jeering and if Twitter reports are to be believed, the odd scuffle or two.

An Indian victory over Pakistan at the World T20 in Sri Lanka on Sunday evening cued the Indian celebration - waving of the tricolour flag, beating of the Indian dhol (drum), dancing on the streets and the distribution of sweets to all.

Bur Dubai and Karama were in particular festive mood as soon as Saeed Ajmal bowled the last ball to Yuvraj Singh.

In Meena Bazaar, cars embellished with India flags took to the streets, with car horns blaring well into the night.

The Pakistanis were more philosophical after their team failed to break their World Cup jinx against India again – they have yet to win a World Cup game in any format against India.

Pakistani national Waheed Qadri said: “It’s just a match. Who cares if India won, we are still better the team and one needs to just look at the team rankings this World Cup to see that Pakistan is still ahead, despite this loss.” 

Mustafa Sheikh added: “Indians shouldn’t be cheering so much. Who knows if the match was rigged?”

Twitter posts claimed some of the restaurants that showed the match ‘live’ did see the passion overflow as fans clashed.

Ramee Royal Hotel’s popular Time Café, which is a regular haunt with both Pakistan and India supporters, had hired extra security to ensure the safety of its patrons.

Renjith Nair, Public Relations head for the Ramee Group said: “Time Cafe is always buzzing during matches, and this time around, with both the Premier League and the T20 World Cup cricket, there is never a quiet moment.”

He added: “To ensure the safety of our guests for Sunday’s match, we heightened security for an uninterrupted time.”

However, a brawl did start 10 minutes after the games, but security immediately diffused the situation.

Akshay Tripathi, who witnessed the fight, said: “This happens at every Indo-Pak cricket match… across the world.”

Raju Gyanendra, a private taxi driver who was participating in the impromptu car parade, said: “Watching India’s performance in the previous matches during the T20 World Cup, we were a bit tensed, but after seeing Yuvraj bowl, we knew this win was ours. We showed them.”

Housewife Reena Bhatia, who was celebrating the win with her 3-year old in Meena Bazaar, said: “India winning against Pakistan is the biggest event in cricket. For us it is equivalent to winning the World Cup itself.”

Prashant Gupta, a shopkeeper there who was handing out sweets to celebrate the win, said: “There were many Pakistanis trying very hard to rub it in that team India wasn’t doing well at the World Cup this year. This is one of the best Indian squads we have.”

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