World Cup 2019: Meet the elderly Indian fan who is the talk of the town

The India vs Bangladesh World Cup 2019 match was one of the most entertaining contests. After their loss to England, this game became a crunch one for India as they were eyeing qualification for semifinals, while for Bangladesh, this is a must-win encounter. India hit all the right notes and started by winning the toss.

Rohit Sharma slammed his fourth century in the tournament and added 160 runs with KL Rahul (77) to power the team to 314 runs in 50 overs for the loss of 9 wickets. Mustafizur Rahman was the pick of Bangladeshi bowlers, picking up five wickets and bowling brilliantly in the death overs. However, some more happened during the Indian innings as an elderly fan was caught by the cameras passionately cheering for the Men in Blue and blowing the trumpet.

“I love this Indian team and all the players are like my kids,” says the 87-year-old fan

The elderly lady was identified as Charulata Patel, an 87-year-old die-hard Indian cricket fan. She has been watching cricket since long back and had come to lift the spirits of the Men in Blue as they aim to make it into the top four. “I have been watching cricket for the last many decades, from the time I was in Africa. Earlier I used to watch on TV when I was working, but now that I am retired I watch it live,” she was quoted as saying.

There were huge cheers in the crowd whenever she was shown on the large screen, blowing the trumpet enthusiastically. Later she was interviewed by the broadcaster and was surrounded by Indian fans who clicked away selfies and were seen having some fun, while the senior citizen mentioned that, “I love this Indian team and all the players are like my kids.”

Meanwhile, it was another professional performance by the Indian team. After posting a challenging total on the board, their bowlers responded with regular wickets. Most Bangladesh batsmen got starts but none of them managed to convert it. Though there was also some late order spark by Mohammad Shaifuddin who scored his second ODI fifty Jasprit Bumrah ended their resistance in his own style. India won the game by 28 runs to become the 2nd team to qualify for the semis.