Two\u2019s a crowd
\nVisa delays have denied virtually all Pakistan fans the chance to travel to India despite having World Cup match tickets
\nAhmedabad
\nWith their green shirts drowning in a sea of blue, Mohammad Uzair and Asif Syed Ali were a rare sight in Ahmedabad — two Pakistan fans in an Indian dominated crowd of around 120,000 witnessing the biggest show in cricket.
\nThe friends had travelled from their homes in Houston for Saturday\u2019s World Cup clash, vowing to match their counterparts \u201cchant for chant\u201d.
\nThe two joined Mohammad Basheer, also from the United States, as part of the small number of Pakistan fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the biggest cricket stadium in the world.
\nVisa delays have denied virtually all Pakistan fans — especially from across the border — the chance to travel to India despite having World Cup match tickets.
\n\u201cAll\u2019s well that ends well,\u201d said US passport holder Uzair.
\n\u201cFinally, we are here but how? Don\u2019t ask. It was a lengthy and arduous visa process but we managed it and are excited to be here,\u201d Uzair told AFP.
\n\u201cWe roamed around Delhi and Uttar Pradesh before coming to Ahmedabad for the big match.\u201d
\nUzair and Ali are IT workers and play cricket for the same club in Houston.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s strange that there will be very few Pakistan fans in the stadium but we will do our best to match them slogan for slogan,\u201d said Uzair, holding a banner showing both Indian and Pakistan flags.
\n\u201cBut we hope there are more than two Pakistan fans. It will be a match-up, just like we did at the MCG last year,\u201d said Uzair of the Twenty20 World Cup match between the teams in Melbourne last year.
\nNot afraid of India\u2019s 7-0 ODI World Cup record against Pakistan, Ali hoped the jinx would be broken.
\n\u201cSeven is just a number and I see a brake on India\u2019s sequence today,\u201d said Ali.
\nHe added in a spirit of companionship: \u201cBut we are wearing Indian blue shirts underneath. In case they win, we will project that blue shirt.\u201d
\nBoth men are fans of India batting star Virat Kohli.
\n\u201cKohli is a world class player and those who compare others with Kohli have no knowledge of cricket,\u201d said Ali, who hopes Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi excels in Saturday\u2019s match.
\n\u201cShaheen is a world class bowler and I hope he gets wickets against India, but not Kohli!\u201d
\nAlso in the crowd was Mohammad Shahzad who has an Indian wife, Shabana. The couple live in Norway.
\n\u201cI got a visa without delay and came last night,\u201d Shahzad told AFP.
\n\u201cBut it\u2019s disappointing that there are Pakistan fans missing. It\u2019s a sea of blue but I don\u2019t mind if Pakistan win.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two\u2019s a crowd Visa delays have denied virtually all Pakistan fans the chance to travel to India despite having World Cup match tickets Ahmedabad With their green shirts drowning in a sea of blue, Mohammad Uzair and Asif Syed Ali were a rare sight in Ahmedabad — two Pakistan fans in an Indian dominated crowd […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-361754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n