Cricket mania: Green in the day, gloom at night

Crowd that had gathered at various locations, returned home with forlorn faces.

ISLAMABAD:

With dampened spirits, the crowd that had gathered at various locations around the capital turned home after the semi-final match between India and Pakistan was over. Slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ (long live Pakistan) and ‘Pakistan jeetay ga’ (Pakistan will win) which had been difficult to extinguish earlier were replaced with forlorn faces.

During the day, hundreds of people, friends and families, flocked to big screens put up in different areas of the capital especially to show the Pakistan-India semi final match. The ones at the Islamabad Stock Exchange on Jinnah Avenue, Jinnah Super Market and F-9 Park attracted more people.

After the wicket of the aggressive Indian opener, Virender Sehwag, fell the crowd went berserk, which set the tone for the cricket crazy crowd on Jinnah Avenue. Young boys and girls in green shirts went up in joy to celebrate and firecrackers could be heard far off.

“If only our team could hear this roar, they would have felt as if they were playing in front of the home ground,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, who was among the elders in the crowd filled with younger people.

There were national flags fluttering over a sea of people. Subsequently, every Indian wicket was celebrated in a similar fashion. And every dropped catch invited a lot of anger from them.

“This will cost us the match,” said a youngster in anger when Tendulkar was dropped for the first time in the match. “I wonder why they chose Kamran Akmal to keep the wicket,” another local ‘analyst’ among the crowd voiced his displeasure over the dropped catch.

Finally, it was Pakistan Captain Shahid Afridi who had provided them with the biggest opportunity to cheer when he held on to a catch to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar. A youngster holding on to a pigeon freed it.

Even the policemen and security officials including Rangers deployed at the spot joined the celebrations.

Many did not deny the unpredictability of the Pakistani team. “You never know, they are capable of everything,” said a group of young boys who left the area during the lunch break only to return at the start of Pakistan innings. However, some even predicted that Pakistani team would not be able to take the pressure.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2011.