‘Windies Mein Cricket Revive Karna Padega’: ICC Faces Backlash froms Fans for ‘Empty Stands’ in WI vs PNG Game – News18

The West Indies registered a narrow win against Papua New Guinea (PNG) to kickstart their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 ay Guyana on Saturday. The two-time world champions were put under extreme pressure by a plucky PNG before scraping through victory. Left-hander Sese Bau made a fine half-century, guiding PNG to 136 for eight. In reply, a power-packed West Indies should have chased down the below-par total comfortably but the associate nation made them work hard for the win.

But unfortunately, the T20 World Cup opener experienced a very low footfall. The lack of spectators and empty stands at the venue in Guyana left fans on social media devastated.

Just a day ago, Team India received a heart-warming reception at New York’s Nassau County, even though the United States of America hosting a first-ever ICC event. But the scenes in the West Indies were quite alarming as fans didn’t show interest in the home team’s fixture.

Meanwhile, the fans on social media lashed out at the ICC, highlighting the expensive tickets as one of the reasons behind the low head count.

Here’s how they reacted:

PNG’s spinners as well as medium pacers did not allow the hard-hitting West Indies batters to cut loose on a slow surface. The tournament co-hosts eventually got home in 19 overs thanks to a rearguard action from Roston Chase (42 not out off 27 balls) and Andre Russell (15 off 9).