Indian fans want India to win every game against Pakistan, states Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan has stated that the Indian fans back their team and want them to win every single encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan, which adds a bit of pressure on the team. He has also recalled an incident, where the Pakistani fans sledged that the southpaw won’t score more than 15 runs.
India’s last three World Cup clashes against Pakistan have all been single-sided, with the Men in Blue coming out victorious against the Men in Green. However, it has not always been the case for the cricketers, who have found it tough facing the fans’ wrath before the high-octane encounter.
The Indian southpaw, Shikhar Dhawan stated that the expectations of the Indian fans are that the team should win all their encounter against their arch-rivals. He reckoned that this clash between the fans creates a lively and tense atmosphere at the ground, where the cricketers will have to clash it out against each other.
“For Indian fans, Team India should win against Pakistan by any means in ICC events no matter what. They taunt each other sitting in the stands,” he told Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana on their show ‘Double Trouble.’
“I feel pressurised against Pakistan because of the environment in the ground, that’s a whole different feeling. I still remember our game against Pakistan in 2015 World Cup in Adelaide. My form wasn’t that good during that time and I didn’t play well in Australia series before the World Cup,” he added.
In 2015, India’s encounter with Pakistan was rather a one-sided contest, with Indian winning the encounter by 76 runs. However, crucial to India’s success on the day was none other than Dhawan. The left-hander combined with Virat Kohli put on a 129-run partnership for the second wicket, with this partnership translating India’s score to 300/7. Dhawan recalled an incident where Pakistani fans sledged him before the game, where they told him that he would only score 15 runs.
“Our first World Cup game was against Pakistan and when I was walking down at the venue, Pakistan fans were shouting, ‘Tu toh 15 runs banake out hojayega' (You will get out after scoring 15 runs). I was like ‘oh okay’. And then, I went on to score 73 runs and the same people clapped for me on my way to the pavilion,” Dhawan concluded.