SUJAY GUPTA
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MELBOURNE: In the universe of the T20 World Cup, the India-Pakistan game is a world of its own. A microcosm that has grown and expanded as the showstopper of its own kind — at least to the travelling cricket circus that is descending at the Melbourne airport and exploding into hotels, cafes, and bars in the central business district.
The centre of their world is the arch around Flinders Street and the Jolimont station, which Public Transport Victoria will serve and will be at their wits end, carrying the hordes of Indian and Pakistani fans into the Melbourne Cricket Ground, for what could be to many, the only game of the tournament. There is a universe around the India-Pakistan game that makes the T20 World Cup. In the days leading up to October 23, this game is the hors d’oeuvre, entrée, salad, main course, and dessert. For the rest of the tournament? Well, book another meal perhaps.
From the British CEO of Cricket Australia, Nick Hockley, who met and had a chat with Herald not far from the iconic statue of Shane Warne at the MCG to Dharminder Singh and Umair Hussain, one Indian the other Pakistani, neighbours in the neighbourhood of Rockbank, all have a “special feeling” about India-Pakistan games. Singh moved from Ludhiana over two decades ago, where he watched and played a lot of cricket. “I don’t get time in Melbourne but do try and watch these special games, sometimes on big screens that are put up for these tournaments and games. His neighbour and friend, whose kids go to the same school, is from Pakistan. They share meals and chats but don’t support the same team. The bromance is all there though. Singh plans to have a chat with Hussain on the weekend to figure out his plans for the 23rd.
For the British-born Nick Hockley who has waited for two years to start the tournament, first as Project Director of the World Cup, is all about surprises, with shocking results and a champion lurking in many corners. Speaking to Herald, his excitement in analyzing matches in the early group stages, of teams ranked lower than the top eight, comes through. He is the boss of cricket in Australia but also just another fan. As he spoke to Herald, on the lawns of MCG, it was just two fans, children of this game, talking.
Nick said “Namibia beat Sri Lanka but lost to the Netherlands, while Sri Lanka won the next game, but since their run rate is low, they may still be knocked out, as he rattled off the scores. He picked out moments like these in the T20 World Cup journey, fondly remembering “I was at the Eden Gardens in 2016 when Carlos Braithwaite (who hit four sixes off Ben Stokes in the last over) played that last over, winning West Indies the cup for the second time, defeating England.
Talking of the game being a leveller, we have reached the halfway stage of the first round, where the Netherlands leads a group in which former Champions Sri Lanka are third and Scotland are on top of the next group where twice T20 champions West Indies are third (as of Oct 20)
However Lanka took a shot at redemption and won their last group game against Netherlands to make it to the next round and join the big eight.
In the other group, for the once mighty West Indies, their Friday game against Ireland is a “do or die”, with copious quantities of rum and lager to be drunk by rival fans, keeping up with the flow of runs
But then Hockley, one of cricket’s best administrators, knows that the slice of the India-Pakistan game in any ICC tournament makes the cake creamier and more layered. Looking back at the 2015, 50-over World Cup, when India lost in the semifinals but only one of the games mattered, in Adelaide, versus Pakistan. “That was huge”, he said
Cut to the café lined buzzing eclectic streets where hipsters on hope in segways on Degreaves Lane and Little Colins Street meet for flat whites and waffles. Life does go on in this bustling, edgy, sharp and vibrant melting pot of the world. But in the colours of Mel, the shimmer of blue, the Indian shirt, and a stray sentence exchanged between two young girls checking on whether the match tickets have arrived in their inbox, brings the world of India-Pakistan games, to your next coffee table.
But cricket and the MCG will always have their pilgrims. Yash and Ketki are a couple from Gwalior now based in New Zealand. He, a pharmacist, she, a communications professional, were holidaying in Melbourne but needed to go back before the big game. But, they managed to buy an Indian team shirt for Yash and go to the MCG for a quick dash before heading back to NZ.
It’s over to cricket pilgrims, devotees of the one big game in this massive festival of cricket.
Meanwhile, one man and his team are getting ready to feed most of them who will grab a meal on match day before heading off for the game — Manpreet Singh of the Delhi Rocks restaurant, on King Street where fans from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and of course India feast of sag chicken and mutton rogan josh.
On the 23rd, rival fans will meet at Delhi Rocks and have bones to pick before trudging off to see Shaheen Shah Afridi tear into Rohit Sharma. The ones in green will pray for a scorching yorker crashing into the stumps. The ones in blue will hope for a flick off the pads to the boundary.
Cricket, you beauty!
