Of glut of matches and dwindling interests

MARCH 24: It's ten in the morning and the hotel manager sounds the alarm bell: Better rush to the stadium or you will get caught in a ma...

MARCH 24: It’s ten in the morning and the hotel manager sounds the alarm bell: “Better rush to the stadium or you will get caught in a mad rush today”. But isn’t it a 3 p.m. start? “You don’t know the crowd during an India-Pakistan match here. Those making it to the stadium on time are lucky, even if they have to wait for hours in a queue,” he reasons.

GLOBALISATION OF THE GAME: Among the crowd is a bunch of 40, who have flown in here especially from places as far as England, Norway and Ireland. They are all Asian expatriates here on a package tour for the tournament. “It’s (tour) an annual affair now. For many of us, this is the chance to have a first-hand look at our favourite cricket stars,” Abdul Rahim, a Karachi-born now settled in Norway says.

As Pakistan were doing badly, his friend and room partner on the tour, Rajeev Puri, an England-based Indian, mocks him: “See, I told you. The Indians are much better.” Minutes later the two are charting their shopping programme for the next day.

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MONEY FOR NOTHING: When the Sheikhs here are not busy with cricket or the ongoing Shopping Festival in Dubai, they put their money on the horse and camel races here. The Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest Derby is currently on and almost all the local TV channels are going gaga over that. The crown prince of Dubai, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is one of the patrons of the race and says proudly, “I put my money on Dubai Millennium. I will be happy if he wins the race.”

At the nearby Sheikh Assalam, the world’s most preferred endurance race is on with small children astride camels drawing huge applause from the local Sheikhs.