The attitude of the Delhi crowd towards Afghanistan pace bowler Naveen Ul Haq changed drastically. Naveen had formerly been one of the most disliked foreign athletes in India. This is due to his bitter rivalry with Virat Kohli, initiated during the last edition of the Indian Premier League 2023.
Naveen’s superb off-cutter dismissed English skipper Jos Buttler on Sunday, the jeers and jeers converted to applause. This happened during Afghanistan’s surprising 69-run victory against the reigning champions at the ODI World Cup 2023. In the 18th over, Naveen dismissed Buttler, ending England’s chances of catching up to 285 on the sluggish field at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Videos of the stadium crowd jumping for glee after Naveen got the wicket quickly became viral across social media. Even Naveen thanked his Indian supporters on social media in the wake of his nation’s second World Cup victory. He posted with a caption as he wrote, “Thank you India for your support.”
This was in sharp contrast to what transpired four days prior at the same location. In that game, Naveen was taunted by the fans each time he approached the boundary line for the game against India. Even when he entered the game to bat during the first innings, he was booed and harassed with “Kohli, Kohli” shouts.
It was necessary for Virat Kohli to intervene and urge the audience to stop making fun of Naveen. After that, the two hugged and put an end to their awful quarrel.
The cheer for Naveen ? pic.twitter.com/LZILRY4712
— Jaanvi? (@that_shutterbug) October 15, 2023
“The dew didn’t come in as much as we expected” : Jos Buttler
England skipper Jos Buttler spoke about his team’s disappointing defeat to Afghanistan during their ODI World Cup 2023 encounter. He discussed his decision after winning the toss and credited the Afghanistan players as well.
He said, “Disappointing to win the toss and concede that many, me missing that first ball down the leg side set the tone. Credit to Afghanistan, they outplayed us today. It came down to execution, we weren’t quite at the level we’d like to be with both bat and ball. They have some fantastic bowlers, the dew didn’t come in as much as we expected, the ball held up a bit too.”
