Pakistan cricket team under the leadership of skipper Misbah has failed to impress fans back at home. The crumbling batting lineup and a dismal bowling performances, the team lost their first two matches in poor fashion to India and the West Indies. Their win against Zimbabwe in yesterday’s match wasn’t also an emphatic or convincing one, just managing to edge the opposition by 20 runs. However, it seems that cricket lovers around the world seem to be fascinated the most by Misbah XI. Google reported that team Pakistan topped the list of most searched teams during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
“Despite two humiliating defeats against India and the West Indies, Pakistan team still continues to dominate search influence and continues to remain the most searched team in the tournament,” Google said in the study. The other teams tailing Pakistan closely in the search list are India, West Indies, England and Australia. Among the underrated and minnow teams, Afghanistan lead the pack on Google followed by Bangladesh, Ireland and United Arab Emirates.
However, the fascination does not stop and end with teams only. Online search trends showcase the fat that Indians harbor an obsession with Pakistani seven foot tall pacer Muhammad Irfan’s actual height. “Indian fans searched online for the exact height of Pakistan pacer Mohammad Irfan and globally fans searched for information around James Taylor’s height.”
Other factors that sparked interest were Indian batsman Virat Kohli’s hairstyle as well as Chris Gayle’s antics. The swashbuckling tall and aggressive West Indian opener was searched numerous times on Google by South Asian cricket fans for his trademark, ‘Chris Gayle dance’. Fans also searched for unusual moments during the world cup, such as when Mahela Jayawardene’s bat broke into two whilst facing an Afghan pacer. Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene caught the fancy of the fans when his bat broke into two pieces while facing a delivery against Afghanistan pacer Shapoor Zadran, driving an immediate spike in global search interest,” Google said.
