"Grandmother India": Amul’s tribute to viral 87-year-old cricket fan

"Grandmother India": Amul’s tribute to viral 87-year-old cricket fan

Mangalore Today News Network

July 04, 2019: Amul India has paid tribute to the viral 87-year-old cricket fan Charulata Patel, who was seen cheering for India against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.

 

In Amul’s poster, Ms Patel’s caricature is grouped with children, with all of them rooting for India. The caption reads "Grandmother India".

"#Amul Topical: 87-year-old Super Fan cheering Indian cricket team makes social media waves! #INDvsBAN," Amul tweeted.

 

#Amul Topical: 87 year old Super Fan cheering Indian cricket team makes social media waves! #INDvsBAN pic.twitter.com/5BbI8y8YHV

— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) July 3, 2019

In the match between India and Bangladesh, Ms Patel grabbed eyeballs when seen cheering for the team. Sitting in her wheelchair, the octogenarian cheered Team India with a vuvuzela.

Her enthusiasm was lauded by Indian skipper Virat Kohli and batsman Rohit Sharma.

"Also would like to thank all our fans for all the love & support & especially Charulata Patel ji. She’s 87 and probably one of the most passionate & dedicated fans I’ve ever seen. Age is just a number, the passion takes you leaps & bounds. With her blessings, on to the next one," Virat Kohli wrote.

"Mrs Charulata Ji was the woman of the match for me. Incredible to meet someone with such a lively spirit," Rohit Sharma tweeted.

"I am a very religious person and have so much trust in God. So, when I pray, it comes true and I am saying that India is going to get the World Cup, definitely," Ms Patel told ANI during the India-Bangladesh match.

Ms Patel also stated that she was there in the stadium when India lifted their first World Cup, back in 1983, under the leadership of Kapil Dev.

"I have been there. When they won the World Cup, I was so proud, I started dancing. And today also, I told my granddaughter that when India is going to defeat Bangladesh, I am going to dance," she said.

Ms Patel revealed that she has been watching the game for decades.

"I have been watching cricket for decades. When I was in Africa, I used to watch it, then I came to this country in 1975. Here I had work because of which I did not get time to watch but I used to watch it on TV. But nowadays as I am not working, so I have the interest and I am very lucky that I get a chance to watch cricket," she said.

India defeated Bangladesh by 28 runs on Tuesday and as a result, the side progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament.

The team is currently placed at the second position in the tournament standings with 13 points from eight matches.

Men in Blue have only lost one match in the tournament so far when they were beaten by England on Sunday by 31 runs at Edgbaston.

Batsman Rohit Sharma is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 544 runs. He is also the only batsman to have scored four centuries in the ongoing World Cup. He is tied with former Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara for scoring four tons in a single edition of the tournament.