ZACS turns fever pitch
Despite the Tigers' poor run of form in one-day internationals this year, thousands of supporters turned up at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday to support the home team in the first of five ODIs against Zimbabwe.
Supporters from the Chittagong city, adjacent upazilas and far off districts poured in as the 18,000-capacity stadium was full to the brim before the scheduled start of play.
Excitement is always high in the stands whenever the Tigers are playing in ODIs and yesterday was no different, especially in the eastern gallery, which accommodated the largest number of spectators.
A group of twelve youths with identical white jerseys entertained the crowd with song and dance. One of them, Arifur Rahman, informed they came from Feni and were members of a social organisation named 'Tarun Sangha'.
A few blocks apart, three Bengal Tigers were spotted roaring as the Bangladesh batsmen were launching against the Zimbabweans. Instead of being scared, spectators thronged them and took photographs with them. One of them was the quite popular face of Shoyeb Ali, a motor mechanic from Faridpur, who has become a constant feature in Tigers' matches since 2012.
"Everyone shout with me", shouted Shoyeb as the crowd followed suit.
There were more tigers spotted around in the galleries, one of whom, Khairul Islam Maruf, came for the first time to watch a cricket match. He said he painted himself as a Tiger to boost the morale of the crowd and that of the players.
Another enthusiastic fan, Towhidul Alam from Halishahar, brought a 50-ft wide flag of Bangladesh.
"I spent 3000 taka to make the flag to support our cricketers as they did well in the Test series. Hopefully they will win the ODI series as well", said Towhid.
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