Indian fans deluge stands, chirp all blue & happening

| | Old Trafford (Manchester)
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Indian fans deluge stands, chirp all blue & happening

Monday, 17 June 2019 | PNS | Old Trafford (Manchester)

The Indian Tricolour far outnumbered the green crescent in the stands (50 to 2) at the Old Trafford where decibel levels went zooming past the city limits, breaching the largely insulated Press Box too. The fans started streaming in from 7 am onwards, most of them looking skywards and praying in unison that the rain be kept at bay and it seemed to have been heard as play started on time with Pakistan skipper Sarfarz Ahmed winning the toss and electing to put the Indians to bat under overcast conditions.

As expected, though not condoned, the chirp between the Indians and Pakistani fans outside the stadium flew fast and high crossing boundaries and limits with impunity, before moving on to the game. There was camaraderie yes, but only on the surface with everything from this match to the 2017 Champions Trophy Final to, of course, Kashmir, becoming mentions that drew cheers and boos in equal measure.

“Pakistan is a wannabe with not too many moments to celebrate against India. All they can talk of is the Champions Trophy. So they raise non-cricket issues like Kashmir to aspire for victory where there is none,” said an all-Tricolour painted Indian fan calling himself Jiggery India. Imran Ahmad, flying the Pakistani flag high, wanted to move on and enjoy a good game of cricket “under the sun and for the full 50 overs each.”

The total capacity of this stadium is 23000 for the World Cup and it was packed to capacity, filling up in a few minutes after news of India coming in to bat broke. The sun too came out after an hour’s play, perhaps to complement the show put up by the Indian openers.

The excitement and the frenzy around an India-Pakistan cricket encounter is unprecedented and goes way above what England is used to. Their noisiest is The Ashes series against Australia which draws in the crowds but never ever has transcended the noise and the chatter that the Indian and Pakistani fans rev up in the stands and out of it. This match is reportedly the most expensive televised match in recent history of any sport, garnering more than ` 100 crore in spot advertisements. It would have been a huge loss for the official broadcaster Star TV had it been rained out, like India’s earlier tie against New Zealand. Fans have converged on Manchester from far and wide, including non-cricket regions like South America where the Indian population is steadily growing. There was a group from Venezuela here.

The high-octane tone for the match was set by none other than Pakistan Premier and former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan who shot off a series of tweets exhorting his team to banish all fear of losing. His advice to Sarfaraz Ahmed was to bat if he wins the toss, a suggestion not heeded by him, perhaps because he got lured in by the juice in the skies and in the pitch consequently. As it turned out, with no success till India reached a handsome 136 run count.

That had the Indian fans in the stands, outnumbering the Pakistanis 80 to 20 per cent, in constant celebration even as the motely people from across India’s border sat quietly waiting for Aamir, Wahab or Ali to strike.  Sharing a beer in the back stands, there was also a lot of talk about the Pakistani wish to celebrate Indian wickets differently. “The only way the Pakistanis have celebrated till now is by silence as they’ve been unable to breach the great Indian defence,” said one fan, tongue-in-cheek loud enough for a group of Pakistani fans queuing up for some fish and chips could overhear. “Wait my friend, wait,” was their goodwill answer.

Indeed, the day is yet to pan out.

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