ALKHOBAR, 16 April 2005 — Shahid Afridi ruled and that was apparent at the Arab News-Le Meridien Cricket Pavilion. “Afridi, Afridi” and “Not afraidi”, the crowd chanted and went berserk with each of the nine sixes that Shahid hit. They gave him a standing ovation on his fifty, his hundred and when he finally got out.
“It’s the best wedding anniversary present that I could have ever received” said an ecstatic Pakistani fan who was celebrating her 21st wedding anniversary at the Pavilion. “My husband got me a surprise, Le Meridien chocolate cake which is very good, but I think it was Afridi who gave me the present....a fabulous, entertaining game and a victory for Pakistan.”
People started coming into the Arab News Pavilion as early as 6.30 a.m. Sree Kumar with wife Ramya and Shardul were one of the first to arrive. “You don’t get a chance to enjoy sports as a family in the Kingdom. I would like to thank Arab News for putting up this Pavilion, where all of us got to sit together and enjoy the game in a family type atmosphere.”
Also in the Pavilion were three friends from Manarat School. Two of them, Samar and Nada were supporting Pakistan. Shireen supported India. The girls said they had a great time at the Pavilion. Samar said, “The Pavilion here has a very electric atmosphere. It is like being in the stadium. And I had heard so much about Shahid Afridi’s game from my mother. It was great to see it for myself. He is amazing. This was one of the most enjoyable games I have seen.”
Sitting in the back of the Pavilion were some Indian supporters in deep discussion. “I predicted that India would win if we scored at least 250 runs, said Sardar Ali, we scored one run short, 249, and thus we lost. I think banning Ganguly from the game did it. It created a pessimistic atmosphere in the team,” said another. “Arab News should show us more games. We love the Pavilion. There is no place like this,” said Abdul Ahad conveying a message to the Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena.
“India suffered because of Dravid’s inexperience at captaincy.” I think banning Ganguly for six games is a bit too harsh, though I am not complaining,” said Nada Tahir a Pakistan supporter. “I am glad Pakistan won, but the game was too one-sided and not exciting enough. Once Afridi got out, there was no spice left in the game,” said Majida, a Pakistani supporter who spent the last hour of the game, playing games on her mobile phone.
A spectator stood with a placard at the Kanpur stadium, which read, “Spare us o Afridi, for the sake of friendship.” This really amused everyone at the Pavilion and that summed up the day’s play... “Not only has Pakistan’s game improved,” said one Indian spectator, “But Inzamam’s English is improving too....Now he does not say, ‘thanks for God’ anymore. “Hey, I love Inzi’s English,” shot back one native English speaker, “It’s very cute.”
The final match will be tomorrow and Arab News Pavilion is set to celebrate in style.
