Fun and frolic on the menu at the General’s banquet

The Indians, in a fitting gesture, presented a bat autographed by the entire team as a memento. Musharraf also received a gift on behalf of the BCCI.

The reception had some hilarious moments as well. For instance, Musharraf was pleasantly surprised to see young wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel and inquired about his age. Captain Saurav Ganguly, who was introducing his players, said Patel was just 18 and he (Ganguly) was unable to manage him. ‘‘Why should you manage him. You should let the young man manage himself,’’ Musharraf told Ganguly.

The General also had the two teams in splits when he described how he enjoyed 200-pound Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq desperately diving in yesterday’s match to slow down the run chase by India. An embarrassed Inzy also joined in the fun.

During the course of the reception, Musharraf told both the teams that judging from the two matches that were played so far, the teams were evenly poised. ‘‘Whatever may be the result, when the long series finally ends, the cricket series would have helped the two countries to forge more friendly ties and brought people of the two countries closer,” he said. To the Indians, he added, ‘‘I’m sure you will be feeling comfortable (in Pakistan).’’