Cricket fans in Visakhapatnam heartbroken over India’s loss to Australia in World Cup final

Cricket fans in Visakhapatnam heartbroken over India's loss to Australia in World Cup Final. Youth, college students flocked to 'Fan Park' to watch match. Despite high hopes, disappointment evident on faces as wickets fell. Fans cheered for team, waved flags, shouted slogans. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli gave flying start, but Travis Head & Marnus Labuschagne hurt fans. Anirudh & Sandhya disappointed, but praised team's performance. Traffic police imposed restrictions, political leaders arranged live screenings. Hotels & restaurants set up big screens for customers.

Heartbroken cricket fans expressed their disappointment over Team India’s loss to Australia in the ICC World Cup Final. The ‘Fan Park’ by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) arranged at R.K Beach was flocked by a sea of people, especially youths, including a large number of college going boys and girls.

Despite posting a total of 240, cricket lovers hoped for a turn around from the Indian cricket team in the second innings. The crowd erupted in joy after quick wickets in the first power-play. However, the partnership between Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne has hurt the fans. Tears rolled down on the faces of some of the cricket lovers. However, spectators kept cheering up for the team. Even at the end after losing the match, spectators waved Indian flags and raised slogans ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘India-India’. During the first innings of the match, the crowd were elated when skipper Rohit Sharma gave a flying start, following Virat Kohli scoring a half century. Youth danced to the tunes of DJ, took selfies and uploaded them on social media. However, disappointment was evident on their faces during the fall of wickets.

“Yes, we are heartbroken, but our team played like Champions. We were unbeaten in the group stage and played really well in the semi-final. We should have made some more runs in the first innings and our spinners failed to take wickets,” said Anirudh, an MBBS student who came to view the live screening at the ‘Fan Park’.

K Sandhya, a degree student who attended the event said “Travis Head has hurt us in the ICC Test Championship earlier this year and now he has hurt again.”

Earlier, excitement was built up in the City of Destiny as the unbeaten hosts clashed with Australia. From 1 p.m., most of the roads wore a deserted look, as people glued to TVs. Cricket lovers started to arrive at the Fan Park from 11 a.m. The traffic police imposed restrictions along the Beach Road stretch between Naval Coastal Battery (NCB) and The Park Hotel.

Some of the political leaders have arranged live screening of the match in grounds in the city and Anakapalli district for the local youth. Meanwhile, hotels and restaurants have arranged big screens for their customers.