Manchester: As one walked through the Talbot Street in Greater Manchester on the Sunday morning, it felt more like Mumbai than Manchester—weather forbidden that is.
Old Trafford, normally a humble county ground in Manchester, was transformed into a cauldron of noise and colour as the fierce rivals India and Pakistan faced off against each other in the Cricket World Cup’s most oversubscribed match.
Craze among the fans from both sides of the border was quite visible as they started to paint the stadium entry gates in blue and green. In anticipation of the high-octane encounter, in the most passionate and presentable way, the fans displayed all the patriotic gear with zest.
The noise was deafening and the atmosphere electric. Booming conch shells, drums, trumpets and even guitars made rounds before the local police cleared the roads.
Indian tricolour stood out fluttering in front of the Victorian Town Centre- almost decisively. The feeling of this match being more than a cricket fixture became stronger as one approached the kickoff time. In between, there were a few middle-aged supporters from both the sides, who sat comfortably next to each other, like good old friends.
A group from Pune, donning the Puneri Padagi were seen with their energised bursting as they chanted slogans for their team while also sharing laughter and jokes with fans on the other side.
“We had specifically planned to travel for the Cricket World Cup, as we all are huge cricket buffs,’ Chinmay Joshi, a Pune resident informed, who regularly plays cricket at the Deccan Gymkhana grounds.
“We had applied for 10 tickets for India versus Pakistan game, but could get only three via the lottery system,” he added.
Many in their colourful avatar hurled fists in the air accompanied by patriotic slogans. The mood was electrifying, yet largely peaceful. It was as if the fans had met a tacit understanding with the cricket gods: There was no way India wasn’t winning this, they felt.
Both sides have large British fan-bases and there were a staggering 500,000 ticket applications for the match, meaning 25,000 capacity Old Trafford could have been sold out 20 times over.
The match wasn’t a final, but that didn’t stop demand for match tickets outnumbering the stadium capacity by some 25 to 1. Some of the subcontinent’s biggest tycoons flew in. They included Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, and host of Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh. Rahul Johri, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, too was seen in great spirits. Well and truly, the fans with their intangible fervour and zest demonstrated, why this is just more than a cricket match.
