Fans take out mock funeral after Pakistan's World Cup exit

In an apparent stage-managed protest on television, cricket fans today took out a mock funeral of the Pakistan cricket team and also smashed Tv sets after the national side lost in the World Cup quarterfinals against Australia. In the protests shown on some channels from the city of Multan, it clearly appeared some of the cricket fans wanted their minutes of fame on television. [caption id=“attachment_2165399” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Footages of around 50 people taking out a mock funeral of Pakistan cricket with cricket bats and balls and later burning them and two angry protesters smashing a television set were beamed after the match. AFP[/caption] Footages of around 50 people taking out a mock funeral of Pakistan cricket with cricket bats and balls and later burning them and two angry protesters smashing a television set were beamed after the match. But generally the reaction to Pakistan’s defeat was not too negative and cricket fans took to the social networking sites to appreciate the fighting spirit of the team while defending a small total and also appreciated the contributions of Misbah in particular and Afridi in their one-day careers. The reactions were subdued because perhaps even before the match most cricket fans and pundits had given Australia a better chance of winning the knockout match. “I loved the bowling of Wahab Riaz, bad luck we dropped those two important catches and the batting was a total disappointment but atleast we gave Australia a fright,” cricket analyst Aaliya Rasheed said. Fans were up early to catch the live action from Adelaide with special screenings at many places and parks despite Friday being a working day. “It is disappointing we lost as the batsmen just didn’t meet the challenge and put up a good tatal. But after losing so many key players including Muhammad Irfan before the quarter final we did well enough to reach the last eight stage,” cricket commentator and writer, Chishty Mujahid said. Pakistan today lost to four-time champions Australia by six wickets in the quarterfinals of World Cup. Set a modest target of 214, Australia overcame a tumultuous start to go past the finishing line in 33.5 overs after the home pacers, led by Josh Hazlewood (4/35), wrecked the Pakistani line-up. PTI