London: India’s 87-Year-Old fan Charulata Patel took social media by storm with many of her photographs and videos going viral in the backdrop of the team’s victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday. After the match, which India won by 28 runs at Edgbaston to qualify for semi-finals, captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma met Charulata Patel and sought her blessings for the matches to come.
Speaking to ANI, Charulata Patel told that she has been watching cricket for last many decades, adding that she is praying for team’s success in the UK.
“India will win the world cup I am sure. I pray to Lord Ganesha that India wins. I bless the team always,” Charulata was quoted as saying by ANI.
Charulata claimed that she was there in 1983, when India won the World Cup for the first time under the captaincy of Kapil Dev. “When Kapil paaji won the World Cup in 1983, I was there as well,” she added.
The 87-year old caught everyone’s attention after she was captured by a cameraman, cheering for Team India from the stands following a Rishabh Pant’s boundary.
The fans on Twitter took no time to hail the elderly India fan, sharing her lovely pictures and videos in full enthusiasm.
After the match, Kohli shared pictures of himself speaking with Charulata.
“Also would like to thank all our fans for all the love and support and especially Charulata Patel ji. She’s 87 and probably one of the most passionate and dedicated fans I’ve ever seen. Age is just a number, passion takes you leaps & bounds. With her blessings, on to the next one,” Kohli captioned the photographs on Twitter.
India sit on the second position on the points table with 11 points and their win against Bangladesh confirmed their semi-final spot with a match to go.
