6 min readAhmedabadOct 14, 2023 10:50 AM IST
First published on: Oct 14, 2023 at 04:00 AM IST
ON THE gates of the Narendra Modi Stadium, the lone Pakistan fan, Mohammad Bashir aka Chicago Chacha, is surrounded by television reporters, fans and passers-by. Bashir is in high demand, he’s the rare voice from the opposition. It’s noon time and there are sweat beads on the 68-year-old’s forehead but the questions are unending. Chacha is being coaxed to say that India will win.
Click here to follow our India vs Pakistan Live Blog
“I can’t say that,” he says. “The best team should win.”
An hour later, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is asked about the prospect of playing in a stadium with 1.3 lakh capacity that might have Chacha as the token Pakistani in the stands. He handles it well and says, “If the Pakistani fans were allowed, it would have been good … But when we arrived in Hyderabad, I felt there were a lot of supporters of the Pakistan team and I expect the same here.”
Click here to follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup
Going by the sights at the previous India games in Chennai and New Delhi, and piles of fake merchandise being hawked on the road leading to the stadium, Ahmedabad too will be a sea of blue on match day.
The press box, meanwhile, finally got Pakistan representation as journalists from across the border got the visa to travel for the World Cup.
“Salaam alaikum, Babar,” a veteran sports scribe from Pakistan opens the pre-game press conference. Pleasantly surprised, the Pakistan captain would look around the room, trace the familiar face and give a beaming welcoming smile. The question turns to be about Pakistan’s World Cup jinx against India and their seven straight defeats. Babar’s expression changes. “Such records are made to be broken and I try to break them …”
Ahmedabad isn’t in a mood to even contemplate that result. India’s dominating wins in the first two games make them the runaway favourite for the tournament. The cricket fever might be missing on the city streets but sounds of Navratri, the festival when the state plays garba, that starts on Sunday is already in the air. Just before the Indian team arrived to train under lights, a group of dancers were on the turf. The rehearsal for the pre-game entertainment show too had a garba flavour.
Once Rohit Sharma and his men entered the arena the drum beats went silent. The Indian captain, at the press conference, was asked about the crowd. It was about the pressure of delivering a win to a partisan crowd. When does home advantage become home disadvantage? Rohit made a face, pursed his lips and thought for a while.
“I don’t think it’s a disadvantage. My overall experience in India and outside India, I have never experienced a situation where crowds have gone against us,” he said.
Rohit was stating facts. The last time India played in a World Cup in a stadium this big was in 2015. It was when they faced Australia at the second-biggest cricket stadium in the world — the MCG. Even in Melbourne the Indians had almost outnumbered the locals. This generation of cricketers have felt at home anywhere in the world.
Babar and his men haven’t had that luxury. Although teams have started touring Pakistan now, most of their players have played their formative cricket during their country’s international isolation. When Babar was asked about his dismal record against India, he reminded the reporter that the two teams seldom play each other.
Which Indian batsmen and bowlers do you find the most challenging tomorrow? “The challenge is the Pakistan-India match,” said Babar.
Rohit tried his best to underplay the occasion and underlined that statistical superiority doesn’t translate into psychological advantage in cricket. “I don’t think it’s a psychological advantage. Because you have to play good cricket every day. I should not pay too much attention to what is already over,” he said.
With the Indian captain repeatedly steering away from the hype around the India-Pakistan World Cup game late in the press conference a last attempt was made by a reporter. We have seen you having tears in your eyes when the national anthem plays before the game, what will it be like tomorrow? Rohit had a quizzical look on his face. “When did you see that? It is certainly emotional. I have said this many times, that for us, tomorrow’s match is a match against the opposition. We will see that match the same way we have seen the last two matches,” he replied.
Earlier, Rohit said that he had ticked all the boxes and he hoped things would turn his way. “If not, it’s ok,” he said. That was something that Chacha Chicago said as well.
Performers rehearse for the pre-match ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Nirmal Harindran 
Share
