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Journalism of Courage
The scriptwriters couldn’t have done a better job of it. On the field, the series levelled at 2-2 with everything to play for in three days’ time. Up in the stands, sights such as you would not dream of: Indians and Pakistanis sitting side by side, cheering their own team but not rubbishing the other.
Sometimes walking the extra mile too. If you’d seen Raheel Gujjar outside the Gaddafi Stadium tonight, draped in the Tricolour, you’d probably have mistaken him for an Indian fan. But he was just wearing a flag given to him by new friend Jaswant Singh during the closing stages of the fourth one-day match. ‘‘He gave it to me and I had to take it. How does it matter whether I am wearing the Indian flag, the important thing is that we are playing again. It was a great match, wasn’t it?’’
Usman, another Lahorite, had the tri-colour painted on his face. ‘‘Sab pyaar ke liye,’’ he said.
The bonhomie was probably prompted by the match, which ended in a fair result. There was good batting from both sides and while Inzi’s century drew the loudest cheer, the crowd appreciated the typically solid, reliable — and occasionally exuberant — match-winning knock from Dravid and Kaif. Pakistan played well, India just played better.
Post-match, Inzamam commented on the crowd’s behaviour. ‘‘It was good to see the Indians and Pakistanis mingling so well. Credit to them for making it a great atmosphere.’’
Inzi was underplaying the whole event, because at one point it seemed there were more Indians than Pakistanis. In fact, there were so many Indians from different walks of life — Brajesh Mishra, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ranjan Bhattacharya, Suneil Shetty, Mandira Bedi Gautam Singhania — that you could have easily mistaken it for the Wankhede.
The common man was there, too, coming to Lahore not by chartered plane but by train or bus.
Or by foot, like Parvesh Marwah from Delhi and Suresh Purohit of Jodhpur did. ‘‘There were no problems, we had a good time and will now stay back for the last match as well’’, an excited Marwah said after the win.
Yes, if the scriptwriters had their way, the series would end today. But cricket writes its own script, and the twisting, turning plot decrees that the denouement will be played out only at around 10 p.m. IST on Wednesday.
