People gathered around giant screens on roads and in front of televisions in hotels and restaurants in all the main Pakistani cities hours before the match. They clapped and danced on the beat of drums at the fall of every Sri Lankan wicket. They watched Kamran Akmal’s opening salvos with bated breath, too tense to enjoy the fact that the openers were playing a safe game. When Shahid Afridi, with his eagle-eyed look and bring-it-on walk, came on, fans dared to hope that there was still a chance, that he was going to be different. And what a difference he made. He made 54 off 40 balls, only two sixes and two fours, and even dived to save his wicket. A moment came on the fourth ball of the 19th over, a perfect Lasith Malinga yorker that Afridi edged on to his ankle, and ran a quick single to complete a remarkable victory. We all cheered, hugged each other, and thronged the streets, thrilled to see our team in top form again – even if Afridi might stay back in England to get that ankle looked at.
Where were you when it happened? How did you react? What were your favourite moments of the game? The most tense? And how did you celebrate? Send in your reactions and wishes for the Pakistani team.
Was watching the game in David Lloyd’s lounge in Milton Keynes, and was in touch with friends who were present at Lord’s. There was sheer happiness and celebration as the match came to its conclusion.
Left David Lloyd’s immediately after the game and headed for London where party lasted until 3am. There were Pakistani flags everywhere, the police had to close many roads and in certain parts the whole areas to traffic partly because of safety concerns and partly because the roads were full of fans flying flags; shouting slogans; and dancing and there was no room for traffic to move. Vital Sign’s “Dil Dil Pakistan” was the track of the day.
There were many red London buses stranded on the road and since the drivers had nothing else to do they joined the celebrations too by tooting their horns to the tune of “Pakistan Zinda Baad” as the slogan was chanted by the fans.
Apart from a couple of small incidents where the fans tried to set off fireworks and police tried to stop them the party was largely peaceful and happy. Even the Metropolitan Police officers had smiles on their faces.
A beautiful day!
In the final match,when the speaker kept saying “Pakistan on fire”
the action of shahid afridi after catching a ball & also after victory is my favourite moment of the whole series………
best wishes 4 pakistan.
I was absolutely delighted to watch Pakistan winning the Cup.
My delight turned into a big disappointment when I read Irfan Hussain’s column in today’s Dawn.
Has any one seen Irfan Hussain’s column, “A toast to our brilliant ‘bayyz'”? I was disgusted to read his criticism of some of the players of our cricket team. To me the columnist appeared to be an arm-chair critic. There are much better writers to describe the match than this person.
We had planned a get-together at a friend’s house in defence. We were around 8 friends plus the tabla walla and the music composer. And we had planned to have a music night after the match.
Fortunately for us, it turned out to be quite a nice match. Most tense moment? Ummm. Cannot remember. Best moment: Shahid Afridi’s towering six. And we knew that Pakistan had won.
Great victory but we need to do more in ODIs and the test matches.
salam pakistan
i was slightly amazed to see pak team gaining their spirits and efforts back they were seeming weary at start but pk team is so capricious that they cant be predicted thanks to shahid afridi for providing such useful and important entertainment
i personaly offered 2 rakat shukrana nufal after the historical victory
there was celebrations like eid at our home
thanks afridi thanks pak team
Salam, I watched the game at home with my family. First time my wife take intrest and watch the match after the win we celebrate the event at dinner. Pakistan Zindabad
Its been an auspicious occasion for the entire nation and is the best display of unity, faith and discipline. We as a nation should learn from this one unit success that resulted just because of Pakistani’s coming from different part of the country but appeared as a one unit. This rule implies for muslims as well. If they are united, no one can beat but if they are not they are the weakest and tiniest wall ever been created
What a pointless question, As if it was mandatory for every one to waste their time, glued to the idiot box.
Why instant rewards or punishment all the time to players /sports men only?
All these players are making good money endorsing various products & services on top of what they get for playing a game/s win or loose. When will we learn to respect and deal with dignity with our scholars & people who are mentors of peoples’life. I mean those who make a difference in the lives of under privileged & needy.
Is the president paying out of his pocket the reward money he announced for these players?
For the first time I had a bunk from office here in Dubai. So did few other friends of mine…I had invited them over at my flat and we enjoyed every single bowl of the match…with fullest of excitement…after the win…..we went to pizza hut to celebrate it…and then to Pakistan Society….it was one of the most memorable day. It is amazing how a game of cricket can help us forgetting all the worries, our nation has been going through…Long Live Pakistan
I feel that once you are outside your home country you enjoy such occasions more. We had the same experience here in UAE. Parties are still going on and sweet distributed. Even those who had no knowledge about cricket (like Arabs and Filipinos) now know that there is a sport in which Pakistan has become champion. Nice feeling to have.
I hope Pakistanis take a lesson from this victory. Stand up for Pakistan and be a Pakistani. Do not stand up for PPP, PML-N, MQM, ANP or another party , Stand up for Pakistan. This country of ours needs our help, our passion, our commitment and our solidarity. Shun ethnic, religious regional divide. Let us just love Pakistan and do whatever we can to help Pakistan.
My greatest moment was when Afridi hugged Malik in the 19th over after he glanced a ball to fine leg boundary just almost ensuring victory.
I watched the match from the toss to the ceremony glued to my TV.
we were together at my friends place and had the time of our lives when amir took the first wicket. the way Afridi looked around the ground after the last run….GOD it was awesome.
since “gotta see who rules the world” this moment of joy has come to announce STAND UP FOR THE CHAMPIONS.
may the team remains in this spirit forever and make us proud.ameen
PAKISTAN zindabad.
What really amused me more than the victory of Pakistan over Srilanka was the feeling of nationalism among the people of Pakistan.The victory provided an opportunity to tell the world we are fully alive as a nation and Insha Allah will get through all trobled waters.
United We Stand!
i watched it here in warsaw poland with my sri lankans frieds…i was the only pakistani and oh boy sri lankans are the best people in the world…..
i was at the highest peak on mount everest
whhen Pakistan won and i enjoyed watching on my laptop
long live Pakistan
Few events can ever be characterized as more international as how I watched Pakistan soar to victory that sunday. I live and study in Paris and was at a Canadian bar that shows sporting events; the bar was relatively empty except for a few english cricket fans, my friends and I, and some Sri Lankans who were at the other side of the bar. Our party included myself and two other Pakistani students who are studying in Paris, along with my friends from South Africa, Canada and the US, many of whom needed to be constantly updated as to what exactly was taking place. After we won, we shook hands with the other Sri Lankan fans and celebrated this momentous occasion. They were very gracious losers and was satisfying to realize how great this event was and that were able to share it as the Fete de la Musique bought hundreds of street musicians and eager listeners to the street outside the bar. Many in my university were aware this final was taking place and congratulated me soon afterward. Truly, a victory of this magnitude at such a precarious time for our country’s history is one I will cherish forever.
I was at my granfmothers place here in islamabad n watched the game with my siblings n cousins. The game was no doubt great.. the way the wickets fell n all.. All atound the neighbourhood we could hear people rejoicing on every sixer and fours n wickets!
Well done Pakistan team.. it was indeed a huge gift to the Pakistani nation in time when there’s so much political instability going on! We hope the team stays this way forever!
Pakistan Zindabad!!
I watched it at a freinds place here in Virginia..we couldnt sleep the night before …so we talked about the match and pakistani team…had halwa poori while wathcing the match..had an awsome time…moment of the match was seeing Afridi standing tall after hitting the winning runs..reality had hit us all….there were 20 odd friends gathered who all yelled pakistan zindabad!
Afridi’s SIX off of Udana in the 18th over! That’s the most memorable part for me!
We watched the game in Chicago, streaming from Willow.tv, connected to the TV. what an experience!! we jumped up and down, screamed, cheered and hugged. Never in the history of sports a single game can be this important than this particular one.
I hope that this win is symbolic to a creation of a better Pakistan. I cannot help but think about Afridi analogy. Here’s a guy who is known to have raw talent. A guy who has shown glimpses of what he can do however on most occasions he chose to be erratic with his batting historically. A guy who has gotten in trouble for disciplinary actions (dancing on the pitch against England in Pakistan few years ago). If he had come out and thrown his wicket away after hitting a boundary or two, everyone would have said, well that’s how he is and that’s how he plays. Well he showed the world that he is much more than that. He had resolve in his mind and look of concentration in his eyes. He knew the task at hand and he knew that he was the guy who will take the responsibility to help his team cross the finish line. And he did it. It’s amazing what responsibility and commitment can do. Isn’t our nation like Afridi – full of potential but historically erratic and have been in the media mostly for the wrong reasons?
I pray that this win will be the catalyst for our nation to pull itself together. I pray that this will reignite the spirits and the passion. This is the galvanizing factor for the public. We learned as a nation how to collectively pray for a common cause. Now let’s do it for so many other urgent needs of our nation. Let’s pray that we have the will to confront our leaders. Let’s pray that we recognize our responsibilities. Each of us has a role to play whether you are in Landi Kotal or Leicester, Shikarpur or Chicago. Know what your responsibility is. We have to learn to stop blaming outsiders, each other or even ourselves.
Let’s learn from Afridi. Lets take responsibility in each area of our lives. That’s how we can help Pakistan!
i was seating in petermay stand in 2nd row at oval when younus asked umer gul to come and ball against new zealand right in 12th over and afridi caught styris with in that over for there we turned the tables on cricketing world and came back to won it, ask me i haf to every game apart from the final as it was expensive for me but i enjoyed every single moment of this t20 worldcup
long live pakistan
The first over of Aamir was the best i have ever seen. That over and Afridi standing tall after the win will be etched in my memory forever.
Congratulations to all us Pakistanis.
PS. The pic of Afridi standing tall after the win is now my screen saver
WHAT A WIN !!!! Well deserved and desperately required.
The whole pakistani nation knows that its not just simply a cricket world title, it means a lot to the people of Pakistan. It glued the whole nation together. It gave us the hope that if we work like a unit and have confidence on ourselves we can achieve anything. At the time when our nation is scared, disappointed, scattered in groups, don’t know what direction we are heading, this win bring us the unity & vision. My heart filled with so much joy when I saw everyone was singing Dil Dil Pakistan and holding the Pakistani Flag. Yes this who we are, we are not Balouchi, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pathan or Muhajur . We are just PAKISTANI…
I watched the game at my friends place (in Calgary) with dozen of people… It is so hard to put in words that how everyone was feeling. I was praying in my heart (sure everyone else was doing the same thing) that Ya Allah we need this win, we need this because my people back home desperately need something to joy & cheer about, something that will put all of us together, we need this because we all lost our track and indeed Allah listened it.
To other people it is T20 World Title but for Pakistan it is way more than a Cup. It’s something that could bring the Unity, Faith and Discipline back into my nation.
Long Live Pakistan, Pakistan Zindabad with tears in my eyes and so much joy in my heart…
Bilal (Calgary, Canada)
If Pakistan wants to win the world cup … they require 2 things .. first the captain last name should be a “Khan” and coach should be “Intikhab Alam” … both were there in 1992 world cup … Congrats pak.
Well done – Pakistan Cricket Team. May Allah bless you all and always bless Pakistan. Amen.