Today is the day when the whole of Pakistan will leave behind inflation worries and the delay in the notification of this man and that man. That is the thrill of the cricket battle between India and Pakistan. The T20 World Cup has been ongoing for the past few days in the UAE but of the schedule, the big box-office hit is the Pakistan vs India match today. We hear that the match sold out within hours after the tickets were put on for sale despite the hefty price tag of AED2,400. I have no heart to convert it into tumbling Pakistani rupee.
A friend from Dubai called me the other day saying that Pakistan has already beaten India at the Dubai Expo.
Was the Expo a Pakistan vs India show?
The friend explained that though Pakistani and Indian pavilions are not neighbours in literal distance measurement, but both Pakistani and Indian expats have kept a close eye on the number of visitors to either pavilion, and on that front, Pakistan was comfortably ahead of its Indian counterpart.
Whenever the two neighbouring countries are together at a small or big place, there will be a bloodless conflict.
I asked my friend if he had visited the Indian pavilion, he paused and then whispered, “Hmm, yes, I had to do that to see what their show is all about.” He, however, was all praise for the good show of Indian progress in art, culture and science. He then hastened to say that their Indian colleagues had also visited the Pakistani pavilion and that they were all praise for the Pakistani show.
The Pakistan vs India match today brings back the memories of our childhood days when diplomatic wars had nothing to do with cricket and both countries would face each other in this part of the world, overseen by the household name – Abdul Rehman Bukhatir. Those were the days when Friday was the weekly day off in Pakistan, so most of the epic battles of Pakistan and India would occur on Fridays. People would join the Friday prayers at the last moment so that never-breaking overs were not missed. Every family would arrange special arrangements to make the match a family festival. The vivid and vague memories are haunting me today.
Before cricket leagues and diplomatic spats struck the game, and the Sharjah carnival, I remember, India visited Pakistan for the last time in 2004. The ODI series had a match in Lahore too. For this day and night match, the fans thronged the venue early in the morning. Hours before the first ball was to roll out the match. India won the match, but the excitement of the match never waned.
By and by time, terrorism sneaked in and struck our cricket grounds hard. The attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009 was the final blow, even though international cricket had also already gone off Pakistan.
The Pakistan Super League has lately been reviving the international cricket prospects for us. We are grateful to the players of international cricketing countries who boosted the world’s confidence by landing in Lahore and Karachi and playing the game with their usual guts.
International cricket is going to resume in Pakistan but the usual rivalry-infused thrill which a Pakistan vs India match brings is bitterly missed.
