What’s US media doing at the stadium?

As he struggled to figure out the score, Lewis gave his impressions on the sport. ‘‘It’s really very slow,’’ he said with a smile, adding, ‘‘but being a big baseball fan, it wasn’t very difficult to get a hang of it.’’

And that, Lewis said, was a minor matter compared to the backdrop to the series. His magazine, he said, decided to fly him to Pakistan on the basis of a one-para story on the tour that appeared in The New York Times in late January.

‘‘My editor asked me, ‘Would you go?’ and I just jumped at it,’’ said an excited Lewis. ‘‘It’s so very exciting here. Especially for someone like me to come and see what is happening out here and why there is so much talk about these matches.’’To help him get acquainted with the game, Lewis has been reading up on Robert Eastway’s Cricket Explained and, though he’s still on the first base of understanding, the Texan says ‘‘I am getting better.’’

Good enough to ask about one particular cricketer. ‘‘What’s his name, it starts with a T?’’ he said, looking up a piece of paper. ‘‘Sachin Tendulkar, is it? I have been asked to watch out for him.’’

It’s not merely those searching for the esoteric, however, who are here. The serious cricket writers have made their way here, despite all the inherent difficulties and the competition, and are waiting for the battle between Shoaib Akhtar and Sachin Tendulkar. ‘‘It doesn’t get bigger than this, does it?’’, asks Richard Williams, chief sports writer with The Guardian. India’s tour of Pakistan, he says, makes for a ‘better story’ than England’s Test series in West Indies.

Though he will be here just for the Karachi ODI, Williams is here to do that ‘‘one big story’’ that will be the heart of these matches. ‘‘I am more interested in the phenomenon. You know about India coming here and playing. There is a lot of drama that may happen and I want to see that for myself. For someone who likes surprises, I hope the atmosphere makes it a happy stay.’’

Someone who travels around the world and for different sporting events, Williams compares the enthusiasm for cricket on the subcontinent to rugby back in England. ‘‘When England won the Rugby World Cup, there were millions waiting for them in London. This will be something similar, won’t it?’’

Looking at the bigger picture, though, Williams appeared excited at what the tour would mean for cricket. ‘‘With the game being threatened by other sports, it is indeed important that this tour goes off well. We are, touch wood, having a great month for cricket with the Shane Warne return and his rivalry with Murali. This is the icing on the cake.’’

BBC World Service’s cricket reporter Matt Davies is equally excited and is expecting something that has happened never before. ‘‘I am told the rivalry is bigger than England-Australia. Just want to see it for myself and report back to people at home that this is huge. Just how much the people want India to come and play here is something everyone should know.’’

It’s the experience Scott Bourbon, staff photographer with Getty Images, is looking for. And though it’s a near-empty stadium on Thursday, ‘‘there is still hope’’. As a neutral observer Bourbon says he finds it ‘‘crazy how despite being so close, there is so much tension between India and Pakistan.’’

Just then the Indian team walks back after being beaten by Pakistan’s second string. And a concerned Jim Lewis suddenly gets up and asks: ‘‘Just wondering, would there would be national mourning if India loses the series?’’