JEDDAH, 14 March 2004 — Subcontinent cricket fans watched the One Day International (ODI) between Pakistan and India live on TV screens specially set up at diplomatic missions, restaurants, hotels, offices and other places across the Kingdom yesterday.
Kababish and Salt N Pepper restaurants at Prince Majed Road in Jeddah especially were crowded with fans. These two restaurants screened the match live in their Arab News pavilions.
Indian supporters rushed out of restaurants yelling in joy as Moin Khan could not hit the last ball for six to clinch victory for Pakistan. India beat Pakistan by five runs in a high-scoring thriller to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match limited overs series. This is also the Indian team’s first full Test tour of Pakistan since 1989.
“It was a tight game and India scraped through to a victory,” Abdul Salman, a travel agency executive said at Kababish restaurant. “This match had revived the memory of Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad’s last ball six win in 1986 in Sharjah over India,” he said.
Pakistani fans accept the result with grace but some blamed Moin Khan for not throwing the bat, while some blamed their Captain Inzamam-ul Haq for asking India to bat first after winning the toss.
“Inzamam played a great knock of 122 off 104 balls to set up a thriller, but Pakistan could have won the match if he had decided to bat first,” Usman Farhat, a Pakistani oil company supervisor said. “This was a match that any team could have won. And it has created a world record of 693 runs made on a day of scintillating batting by the two sides,” he said.
Younus Pervez, a Pakistani construction supervisor, hoped that Inzamam and his teammates would learn from the mistakes they made in the match and take corrective steps in the next ODI day-and-night tie coming up in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. “Shoaib Akthar, popularly called Rawalpindi Express for his bowling speed, should do well as he will be playing on home ground,” he said.
In the Eastern Province, subcontinent expats said the match was a thriller. “India may have won the game, but in reality it was the Pakistanis who were the real winners,” an Indian fan said. “India posted a big total of 349 and yet Saurav Ganguly had to chew his nails off to win in the final over. Pakistan really gave us Indians the scare and my hats off to them,” he said.
Expats watching the proceedings on TV screens at various restaurants and homes praised the Karachi crowd. “The best part was that the Karachi spectators behaved well. Both teams conducted themselves with dignity and respect. In the past, cricket only sowed seeds of discord, between India and Pakistan. This time there seems to be genuine warmth between the two and I think we should have more cricket matches between us.”
Pakistani teenager Ali said he was very sad at Pakistan’s loss. “But, mind you, we’ve lost a game, not the series. I cannot believe that Pakistan fought so valiantly. When Pakistan lost two quick wickets, I thought it was all over. There would be a batting collapse and India would win by a margin of over 100 runs. But I’m glad that it turned out to be such a nail-biting, high-tension game.” Razi, an Indian said.
Rizwana, a Pakistani said, “The first game between India and Pakistan after such a long lapse was truly wonderful to watch. I think Pakistan played too recklessly. The Pakistani bowlers gave away too many extras and that is what cost us the game. For India it turned out to be a 56 over match and for us it was a 49 over match, thanks to the bowlers. At first I thought our bowlers let us down and we did not deserve to win. But the way we batted and fought back, we deserved to win. Moreover, Pakistan should have played Taufiq Omar as the opener because the captain of the Pakistan A team had made 104 just a few days back against India in their warm-up game. His confidence would have made a difference.”
Mustafa, a 12-year-old Egyptian watched the game with his Pakistani neighbors. “I have been playing cricket for a long time now, with my Indian and Pakistani friends. My highest score has been 60. I have also taught cricket to my father and uncle, though they prefer soccer. I was supporting the Indian team because I wanted to be on the winning side and I knew they were better than the Pakistanis.”
(Additional input from Sameen Tahir-Khan in Dammam)
