Celebrations for the Pakistan team all the way from London to Lahore

Pakistan cricket fans are cock-a-hoop after their team won the Champions Trophy, that too by beating arch-rivals India in the final. The players are in a frenzy amidst their celebrations and changing their destination back to Pakistan to Lahore where all the players are heading for the celebration. The media hype around the team and back home in Pakistan has revelled in elevation after no one gave them so much as a whimper of a chance at the start of the tournament.

Comparison to the 1992 win

The current win is reminiscent to the 1992 win by Imran Khan and his team. Similar to what Imran achieved, Sarfraz too was holding the trophy up high in the London night, with Dil Dil Pakistan as a befitting background theme. Mohammad Hafeez, who gave the team the much needed thrust in the last ten overs spoke about the urgency to return home at the earliest for the celebrations.

Big screens had been set up at various points, across the streets. After the win, the streets of Lahore were abuzz with people singing and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. The Pakistani players had their own celebrations in the dressing room with the trophy with slogans of “Pakistan Zindabad”. When the team came out of the hotel to catch their flight out to

When the team came out of the hotel to catch their flight out to London, the lobby was filled with the fans screaming for selfies with the players as well as the trophy. The victory has been given a much more recognition than the 2009 World Twenty20 win, mostly due to the fact that it was against India and that not many gave them much chance coming into the tournament.

‘Maza aa gaya’

Social media has flooded with congratulatory messages for the team winning their first major 50-over title since 1992. Imran’s team had a mixture of youth and experience and so do the current team. Like Akram did in 1992, Amir did the same now. A number of young players established their careers in the 1992 World Cup win like Inzamam, Mushtaq Ahmed, Aaqib Javed and Aamir Sohail. Likewise, at present Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Babar Azam and Shadab Khan have made the world sit up and take notice.

The veteran Shoaib Malik was over the moon in the press conference wearing a Pakistani flag as a cape to which someone asked to be lowered so that the logo could be shown to which Malik replied, “Theek hai Pepsi ko dekh lo,” inviting laughter from around the room. All the players were jubilant in the press conference and Babar Azam summed up their feelings in probably the best way phrasing it in “Mazaa aa gaya”.