Cricket fans turn to divine powers

vasuki

Cricket fans turn to divine powers
Our Correspondent

Kumarhatti, February 24
In order to win the India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match on Saturday, local fans have turned to divine powers.

Last night some shopkeepers running roadside khokhas at Dharampur collected money for puja of Devta. They themselves made generous contribution.

“Whosoever lifts the World Cup is a matter of least concern for us but defeat at the hands of Pakistan is not acceptable at any cost. That is why we have decided to donate liberally on Saturday to keep the divine forces with us,” explained a shopkeeper, who runs a cigarette shop.

Meanwhile, most hotels and dhabas along the Kalka-Shimla National Highway have started to make special arrangements for the live telecast of the match for tourists. We have replaced our small-screen TV sets with bigger ones for the sake of tourists,” said an owner of a leading dhaba.


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steven_ber

it could be the 'mother' of all parties everywhere in india if they win on saturday night.

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rab

And for anyone not up-to-speed with cricket results out there - perhaps you should know that England absolutely thrashed Pakistan on Saturday but lost narrowly to India today...

... the stage is set - I have to say I fancy India in the big game!

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vasuki

I have doubts about India in this match.. 250/9 hardly looks a great score.. Those three ducks in the end were tragic... Hope I am proved wrong!!

steven_ber

how can you have doubts, they were playing england.

25/9 could have been enough.

i hope this sets india up for a famous victory over pakistan.

vasuki

Steve.. probably the English team requires a jolt.. Indian style... start painting there cars black and see the results against Australia..

I have already taken leave from work on Saturday.. have a date with the idiot-box..!!

steven_ber

i will probibly go to my 'local' india, southall, west london, it is a poor substitute for the real india, but the atmosphere should be great and i think there is a curry and a few beers calling me.

or am i just hearing voices again.

steven_ber

Saturday March 1, 11:18 PM
By Kunal Pradhan and Tahir Ikram

Joy in India, gloom in Pakistan after big game


NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Cricket-crazy fans danced on the streets in New Delhi but were plunged into gloom in Islamabad after India beat bitter foes Pakistan in what was billed as the "Clash of the Centurion".

The Indian team cruised to a six-wicket win in a World Cup match between players of the two hostile neighbours at Centurion Park in South Africa that had deep political undertones.

"We won the war without any bloodshed!" said Rahul Rathi, a 28-year-old businessman in Calcutta.

"It's a really big disappointment for all of us, especially because it was a match against India," said Islamabad resident Fahmina Tariq.

In the heart of the Indian capital, fans erupted with joy, dancing in the streets to throbbing music. Millions elsewhere in India also took to the streets, setting off firecrackers, beating drums and chanting, "Long live India, we're the champs!"

"This is what we wanted to see - India playing Pakistan and walloping them. My friends and I screamed ourselves hoarse," New Delhi cricket fan Samir Rai said.

In Bangalore, 20 motorcyclists drove in formation through the downtown carrying a huge Indian flag, shouting deliriously.

But across the border in Pakistan, the streets were deserted as the country's cricket lovers went into mourning.

"It was a disgrace, a horrible defeat at the hands of India," said an Islamabad housewife.

Cricket is like a religion in both countries, which have gone to war against each other three times since independence in 1947, twice over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

The last time the countries met on the cricket field was in June 2000 in the Asia Cup in Dhaka when Pakistan triumphed. The Indian government has banned all bilateral cricket with Pakistan since then because of tensions over Kashmir.


DIVIDED LOYALTIES

In Muslim-majority Indian Kashmir, where a revolt against New Delhi's rule has raged since 1989, fans with divided loyalties clustered outside television shops showing the match.

"India won the game and taught Pakistan a lesson," said banker Bilkis Mir in Srinagar.

"I was praying Pakistan would win. We should have all prayed for them - we're religiously one," said student Tahir Bhat.

While the match was underway, streets and markets on both sides of the border were empty as young and old watched the action and some fans painted their faces in the colours of their national flags. In New Delhi, cinemas abandoned movies and screened the match instead.

But the intense passions have a darker side and authorities on both sides of the border had stepped up security in case the mood of fans turns ugly.

"We could see a 1996 World Cup-like situation when losing to India in Bangalore sparked a wave of agitation against Wasim Akram who was the skipper then," Abdul Mohi Shah, a sports commentator, said in Islamabad.

Just two weeks ago, irate fans in India were berating their country's cricketers after their poor World Cup start.

Captain Saurav Ganguly was given a mock funeral in Calcutta while black paint was hurled at middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif's house in Allahabad.

But India's fans now appeared to have been pacified.

"We don't care any more if we don't win the World Cup," said Saket Malhotra, a 26-year-old doctor, pouring himself a shot of Tequilla. "Beating Pakistan is enough for me!"

vasuki

Sunday March 2, 4:12 PM
By Thomas Kutty Abraham

AHMEDABAD (Reuters) - A youth died in Gujarat after police opened fire on Hindu and Muslim cricket fans who clashed over India's World Cup triumph against rival Pakistan, police said on Sunday.

The 18-year-old died overnight after police fired to disperse dozens of Hindu and Muslim fans hurling stones at each other late on Saturday in the Muslim old quarter of Ahmedabad, which saw religious riots a year ago.

"He died in the hospital, the wound was on his chest," a senior police official told Reuters. "At least six were hurt in stone-pelting but the situation's quiet now.

"We've got routine police patrols out on the streets," added additional commissioner of police Satish Verma, saying there had been scattered violence across the state but no injuries.

Cricket is a passion on the subcontinent. Matches between India and Pakistan, which have gone to war three times, twice over disputed Kashmir, create a charged atmosphere that has often led to clashes in Gujarat.

The coastal state was the site of India's worst religious bloodshed in a decade in February and March last year in which nearly 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in a wave of revenge killings after a train arson attack left 59 Hindus dead.

Elsewhere fans across India partied until dawn on Sunday to celebrate their team's decisive six-wicket win over Pakistan that was splashed across newspaper front pages. "We did it. Now for the Cup," blared the Hindustan Times in a banner headline.

"Everyone's ecstatic," said bleary-eyed New Delhi medical student Dheeraj Rai, 24. "I've been out on the roads, going from place to place ever since India won, partying with my friends."

Revellers draped the Indian tricolour over their shoulders and did victory jigs in the streets, shouting themselves hoarse.

In Calcutta, fans massed outside Indian captain Saurav Ganguly's house roaring, "Long live India".

But in Pakistan, the streets were silent amid disappointment over the country's crushing defeat and details of the loss were pushed to newspapers' back sports pages.

"Indian ace outclasses Pakistan pace," said a headline in the News daily. "Thank God it was only a game. No irreparable loss...(only) loads of frustration," columnist Nasim Zehra wrote

vasuki

Islamabad, Mar 2 (ANI): Cricket-crazy fans were plunged into gloom in Islamabad after India beat Pakistan on Saturday in what was billed as the "Clash of the Centurion".

"It's really a big disappointment for all of us, especially because it was a match against India," said Islamabad resident Fahmina Tariq.

Across the border in Pakistan, the streets were deserted as the country's cricket lovers went into mourning.

"It was a disgrace, a horrible defeat at the hands of India," said an Islamabad housewife.

"I was praying Pakistan would win. We should have all prayed for them - we're religiously one," said student Tahir Bhat.

While the match was underway, streets and markets on both sides of the border were empty as young and old watched the action and some fans painted their faces in the colours of their national flags. (ANI)

vasuki

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MARCH 02, 2003 11:31:36 PM ]

FEROZEPUR: That an India-Pakistan cricket match generates emotions other than sporting spirit was evident at the Hussainiwala border checkpost on Sunday evening when Indian and Pakistani spectators, who had come to watch the beating-the-retreat ceremony, started throwing stones and hurling abuses at each other as if shouting slogans was not enough.

India had convincingly defeated Pakistan in a crucial World Cup encounter on Saturday. Border Security Force personnel and Pakistan Rangers had to use minor force to disperse the agitated spectators.

The situation turned ugly when some Pakistani spectators tried to instigate the Indian spectators led by local MLA Sukhpal Singh Nannu with some objectionable remark. But it did not stop at that.

Some of them started throwing stones towards the Indian side, hurting some of the spectators. Ten people were admitted to hospitals with head injuries. The Ferozepur deputy commissioner and the sub-divisional magistrate rushed to the spot to assess the situation, which was brought under control by then.

Later, talking to Times News Network, Sukhpal alleged that Pakistani spectators had preplanned the attack on Indian fans. Meanwhile, it was a belated Diwali in other border villages.

Villagers of Attari, Theikala and Rattankalla came out of their houses to distribute sweets. All these villages are a stone’s throw from the border.

Gandhi

March 23, and we all shall know...:-)

vasuki

SIDDHARTH SRIVASTAVA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, MARCH 04, 2003 02:58:17 PM ]

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket team has further incentive to qualify for the World Cup final: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is likely to join the raucous Bharat Army in South Africa to cheer the team, if they make it to the last stage.

According to highly placed government sources, Vajpayee has expressed a desire to be at Johannesburg on March 23 if India is one of the finalists.

Fans and cricket analysts see India as a favourite now if the Men in Blue continue with their current devastating form and Sachin leading from the front.

"Mr Vajpayee will be there, the Prime Ministers Office has already been informed about the necessary changes in his programme," says a senior official.

Vajpayee has been in the thick of World Cup cricket, albeit from here, till now. He urged Indian fans to exercise restraint post India's defeat to Australia and a poor showing against Holland. Angry Indian fans had taken to the streets and burnt effigies of cricket players post the performance against Australia.

Vajpayee, along with his family members watched the last 90 minutes of the India-Pakistan match, although the Prime Minister missed Sachin's initial onslaught on the Pakistan bowlers due to a prior appointment. Vajpayee congratulated the team immediately after the victory.

Sources say that Vajpayee's decision to be at the final has also been triggered off by a stream of letters, e-mails and telephone calls by fans across the world, post India's victory over Pakistan, urging him to be personally present at the final to boost the team.

It is not clear if other ministers will accompany the Prime Minister.

Vajpayee apart, the top echelons of the Indian government and political class have been caught up with the cricket mania that has swept the nation.

UB group chairman Vijay Mallya has been ferrying Members of Parliament in his private jet to and fro from South Africa.

Parliament saw empty seats on the day that India took on Zimbabwe. There are reports that the crucial Ayodhya debate was postponed for the same reason.

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani too watched the India-Pak match live with his family and was the first off the block in congratulating Sourav Ganguly for the win over Pakistan.

A close second, though, was a surprise caller: General N C Vij, the Army chief. Can the Army be far behind when matters to do with India and Pakistan are involved? The last time India and Pakistan met on the field was when Kargil was happening.

The calls came in the night itself, shortly after the team returned from Centurion. While Advani spoke to manager Jyoti Bajpai and followed it up with calls to Sourav and man of the match Sachin, General Vij requested Bajpai to convey his congratulations to "all members" of the victorious XI.

Given the occasion, all calls had a common content — "Great show and well done."

However, with Vajpayee taking a personal call to visit South Africa, it now boils down to Team India living up to the talent that we all know they are capable of.


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steven_ber

india lost the cricket world cup final to australia by 125 runs today.

they done their country proud by getting to the final.

also, beat pakistan on the way.

well done.

vasuki

Thanks Steve... feeling better now on this awful Sunday night..!!

That Gangu chap will get some reception once back.. after his decision to field first.