Fan dies from heart attack after India's World Cup defeat

Unable to take India's crushing defeat in the crucial World Cup match against Sri Lanka, a cricket fan here died following a heart attack early Saturday.

K. Raju, 29, a resident of Champapet neighbourhood here, died minutes after India's defeat. Family members said he watched the entire match on television and was depressed over the result.

He switched off the television after India lost their final wicket for 185 runs, but kept telling his wife that the Indian team's performance was miserable and the result would have been different only if top players batted well.

Raju, a technician at an Internet café, later collapsed and was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

He had married six months ago and his wife Kavita said he had no history of cardiac problems. "He was very passionate about cricket and used to watch all matches involving the Indian team," she said.

India's defeat broke heart of many cricket fans here and other towns of Andhra Pradesh. The fans, who had made special arrangements to watch the match live on giant screens at few places here, were disheartened by the loss.

They blamed the entire team, especially batsmen for the miserable performance. "It is time to replace players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly with youngsters," said Venkat Reddy, one of the fans.

"It was very disappointing to see India virtually crashing out. Dravid's poor captaincy is to be blamed as he allowed Tendulkar to bowl eight overs which helped Sri Lankan batsmen score runs easily," said Mohammed Faiz Ahmed, a former player of Hyderabad team.

He was of the view that Irfan Pathan should have been given a chance in place of Robin Uthappa and Anil Kumble should have made way for Ajit Agarkar. "Our batting was miserable. It is time selectors looked for young talent," he said.

(IANS)

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