Yasir wanted Sachin’s shirt, Balaji said: ‘It’s all the same, re’

It should have been Shoaib seeking out Sachin’s shirt; instead, the Rawalpindi Express called out to Yuvraj, who instantly obliged.

The strangest request was from Yousuf Youhana to Ashish Nehra: May I have a look at your bat? Nehra tossed the SS bat (which Sehwag also uses) across, Youhana checked it out and asked, ‘‘Yaar peeche zyaada meat kyon nahin hai?’’ To which Nehra replied with a smile, ‘‘Kya poochte ho, mein kya batsman hoon kya?’’

Apparently satisfied with the feel of the bat, Youhana shouted out, ‘‘This is the one with more meat if possible’’.

The Indians were in great spirits way before the close, of course. The dressing room had a relaxed air, even John Wright — notoriously nervy — sporting a benign smile. After an extended lunch break, as the Indian win became more and more obvious the reserves brought out their cameras.

When Fazl-E-Akbar became the ninth man to get out, it was time to take positions close to the boundary rope.

The restless wait at the ropes was somewhat lightened by the shouts from the enclosures. While the locals, cheering for Irfan Pathan, were in the Javed Burki Enclosure, the Sikh pilgrims from India here for Baisakhi made a lot of noise in the Fazal Mahmood Enclosure.

‘‘Irfan sadda sher hai dum lagan di der hai,’’ went the chant in Punjabi from the Burki Enclosure.

From the other side of the pavilion, the Sikhs started: ‘‘Cha gaye re cha gaye India wale chaa gaye’’ and a round of ‘‘Saare Jahan se accha…’’

And as soon as Danish Kaneria got out, Wright’s hands went up in the air. He just couldn’t stop smiling, and embraced his support staff — computer analyst S Ramakrishnan, physio Andrew Leipus and trainer Greg King.

Then came the players. First up was Virender Sehwag, who came shouting ‘‘Johnny’’. The senior pros were next; the longest hugs were with Ganguly and Sachin.

In the dressing room, the whoops and shouts — and bhangra — were led by Yuvraj. And when his captain sprayed the champagne sent over by the Indian High Commission, Yuvi did the practical thing: grabbed the bottle and took a long swig.

While all this was happening, the other dressing room was immersed in gloom. Finally team manager Haroon Rashid got up and said ‘‘Gentlemen, it’s all part of the game, it happens.’’

The spell broken, the hosts got around to taking care of their visitors.