Sunshine, TV time on mind

Rohit Mahajan
Tribune News Service
Leeds, July 4

The Indians are in the semis, the pitches are worn, the sun is beating down on them and making them dryer, and Virat Kohli and Co. are relaxed.

India are likely to square off with England in the semifinals in Birmingham, where the Indians had lost the round-robin stage match between the two teams. England are picking steam, having destroyed New Zealand yesterday; the defeat to England is their only loss so far, but the Indians are not fretting over that for now.

It’s laughter and jokes in the Indian camp. Kohli c Yuzvendra b Chahal — that was the equation as Chahal managed to ‘catch’ his captain on camera. “He’s trying to get into Chahal TV,” said Chahal as Kohli passed by when Chahal was ‘interviewing’ KL Rahul for his video-blog. “People are desperate to get on to Chahal TV!” added Chahal. Kohli denied that he was trying to ‘photobomb’ into Chahal TV.

North stars

This is the Indians’ northern-most presence in Britain in this World Cup, and the Indian-Brits in Leeds are excited. Some of them spotted Kohli and Anushka Sharma at dinner in a restaurant. Many Indians came to the ground today in India colours. We spotted a few Indian flags in the crowd. Among the bearers of the Indian flags at the West Indies-Afghanistan game is Ali Hussain, who’s come up from the nearby city of Bradford. “India is always in my heart,” says Ali, born in southern Rajasthan, close to the border with Gujarat, and speaking Gujarati with his two sons, both born here. “It doesn’t matter if West Indies are playing Afghanistan today, we’re always supporting India,” he adds. “Inshallah, we would go on to the final and win it.” Indeed.

Kid stuff

The ground at Headingley is peaceful. The venue was a cauldron of anger and passion — involving hand-to-hand combat — when Afghanistan played against Pakistan here last Saturday. “I nearly got my head squashed against the fence that day,” says Alice, a volunteer at the ground, relating how ticketless Afghan fans jumped over the fence to get into the stadium. There are reports of noses smashed by punches, and wrists and fists and egos bruised in the clashes among the fans of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the security staff.

There’s little enmity in the stands today — the stands are ringing with the delightful laughter of children. West Indies and Afghanistan are fighting to avoid the last place. The interest in the match, understandably, is less than very intense. Tickets have remained unsold. So the authorities have invited up to 3,000 children to watch the match. They’re kept in check by kindly primary schoolteachers, armed with a stern eye and a sharp whistle to control them.

The kids are having a whale of a time, running to the fence at the edge of the field to get autographs from fielders. “It’s the first time for them at a World Cup match,” says a gentleman teacher, addressed as ‘Mr Philip’ by his little pupils. “It’s a memory they’re going to retain for the rest of their lives.”

Dancing to Afghan jalebi

At the break, throaty shouts of men reverberate at the stadium. It’s the Afghan men, dancing to Afghani music. “We don’t care if we win or lose this match,” says a man with Stanikzai printed on his shirt. “We’ve already achieved a lot by qualifying for the World Cup. Ours is a new team and it has given us so much happiness.” The women aren’t dancing, for they must follow convention and custom, but their hearts are happy. “Even if we lose this match, we would be happy,” says Afghanistan-born Marusa, here with family and friends. Marusa says that cricket has united the different ethnicities of Afghans — Pakhtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, etc. She herself is multicultural, of Afghan-Tajik heritage. “So apart from cricket too we Afghans are united,” she says. Her friend Diba, also Pakhtun-Tajik, nods in agreement.