New Delhi, Feb 22: The Pakistan Cricket Board was in for an embarrassing moment when the Indian National Anthem was mistakenly played at Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium moments before the start of Saturday’s Australia vs England Champions Trophy match. Just as the Aussies had lined up for their National Anthem, the crowd and the players were in for a shock when India’s, not Australia’, National Anthem got underway for a few seconds.
The entire episode unfolded after the England national anthem was completed. The cameras quickly panned towards the Australian national flag as soon as it was Australia’s turn. But instead, the words “Bhagya Vidhaata” were heard before being cut out. The video is since doing the rounds on social media.
Fans are now coming up with hilarious reactions on X (formerly Twitter), saying Pakistan is desperately missing India.
https://x.com/ImPran25/status/1893224601171238933?t=feo7Lop8y5I_vq9wn5saZg&s=19
The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 got underway earlier this week. So far, three matches have happened, and the weekend has brought blockbuster rivalries to the forefront. Australia and England are squaring off in Lahore today before the week ends with the high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Earlier, a controversy erupted after India’s national flag was missing from the roof of the National Stadium in Karachi. The PCB then gave an explanation, saying the directive had come from the ICC that only four flags would be used on match days.
However, during the tournament opener between Pakistan and New Zealand, India’s flag was seen back at the top of the National Stadium in Karachi.
In Match 4 of the Champions Trophy, Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both teams are looking to turn around their fortunes in the 50-over format. England recently lost an ODI series against India, while Australia suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka.
Australia have not won a match in the Champions Trophy in the last two editions. On the other hand, this is the first time England are playing an ODI in Pakistan since December 2005.
At the time of the toss, Smith said, “Looks a pretty good surface. There’s a bit of dew when we were practising, so we’ll like to chase later on.”
Wheres Buttler said, “We probably would have batted, we were a bit 50-50 whether the dew comes in or not. Looks a really good surface, look to try and make good first use of it.”( HT)
