By the time the South African and Afghanistan teams faced the North stand at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba ahead of the first International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup semifinal on June 26, West Indian supporters had already accepted the reality that their beloved team would not be lifting an unprecedented third T20 title.
Still, cricket lovers from Cedros in south Trinidad to New Jersey, US turned up at the BLCA in their numbers expecting a colossal "David and Goliath" T20 spectacle, with an estimated 8,000 spectators inside the venue when the lanky Marco Jansen delivered the first ball in anger to the tournament's leading run-scorer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, at 8.30 pm.
With the T20 World Cup dream over for skipper Rovman Powell and his West Indies team, scores of supporters threw their support behind the "underdog" team Afghanistan, who won hearts in the region with their exhilarating style of cricket.
At the start of the contest, Gurbaz and his teammate, left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi, topped the tournament's respective batting and bowling charts, and many Trinis felt it was Afghanistan's time to rise to cricketing supremacy.
With marquee wins over New Zealand and 2021 champions Australia in the group stage and Super Eight phase respectively, the Afghans were beaming with belief and pride as their eight-run Super Eight Duckworth-Lewis-Stern Method victory over Asian rivals Bangladesh propelled them to the World Cup semis for the first time.
[caption id="attachment_1092848" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shane Mohammed (left), Rishi (centre) and Vishnu (right) prepare for action in the ICC T20 World Cup semifinal between Afghanistan and South Africa at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on June 26. - Photo by Roneil Walcott[/caption]
And with the legendary Brian Lara picking Afghanistan in his top four teams before the tourney, captain Rashid Khan and his squad felt duty-bound to deliver at the cricket home named in honour of the prince of Port of Spain.
"I think the only guy who put us in the semifinals was Brian Lara. I think we have proved that right," Rashid said, after his team's nervy win over Bangladesh at Arnos Vale, St Vincent in the wee hours of June 25.
"I told Lara, 'We won't let you down.' I think that's something everyone is proud about."
In the stands, a few other Trinis were rooting for the Afghans, whom they deemed the "David" in this World Cup fight.
As Newsday made its way through the north stand and the grass mound on the eastern side of the BLCA, Ainsley Gopaul, Stanley Jones, Shane Mohammed and Shivanna Samlal were among those who wanted Afghanistan's fairytale run to continue.
Making the voyage from Cedros with his family, a passionate Gopaul showed off his Afghan flag as he shared a moment of friendly rivalry with his son Arion, who was draped in a South African flag.
Arion was backing the Proteas to make their maiden World Cup final appearance, but he appeared to be outnumbered with his allegiance to Aiden Markram's team.
With t
