Thousands of cricket fans of all ages came out of their homes and the Mirpur stadium and gathered on the streets of the capital last night cheering.
Wearing Bangladesh Cricket team’s jersey, blowing whistles, playing the drams, weaving flags or whatever they could find, they expressed their joy of Bangladesh’s victory over Ireland in the world cup match.
Streets around Mirpur cricket stadium, the venue of the match, saw procession of cheering Tigers fans. They were chanting Bangladesh… Bangladesh. Even law enforcers struggled to get the Tigers’ bus out of the stadium and into their hotel.
The team bus started from the stadium at 10:45pm and reached Dhaka Sheraton Hotel around midnight.
It took 20 minutes to get the bus out of the stadium area, said Officer-in-Charge of Mirpur Police Station Kazi Wazed Ali.
Thousands of people at different points on route were standing to cheer and wave at the bus carrying the match-winning side.
Dhaka turned into a city of celebration, slogan and music of cheering people after the last Irish wicket fell. Streets in and around Mirpur, TSC of Dhaka University, Dhanmondi and Gulshan Lake were crammed with people celebrating.
“Bangladesh came back to win the game after scoring so low, I think this is the reason behind the fans’ boundless joy,” said Capt Imtiaz, a pilot who drove to TSC from Gulshan with his eight-member family to join the celebration.
Many people enjoyed the game on big screens at different spots of the city.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulated Bangladesh cricket team over the telephone. BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at a massage also congratulated the Bangladesh team.
However, there were some low points in yesterday’s festivities.
At least 15 youths were injured when a truckload of cheering fans turned over near Mohakhali around midnight. The injured were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, a group of unruly youths harassed some young girls on the Mirpur stadium premises after the match. Police rescued the girls and took them to the police station on the grounds of their safety.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
