BOMBAY, 24 March 2004 — The current nerve-fraying cricket series between archrivals India and Pakistan may be firing up the fans on both sides of the border but for Bollywood it has ushered in a prolonged cinema drought. Most producers have bowed to the inevitable and, acknowledging cricket has a far great audience pull than cinema, have postponed their new releases until after completion of the series on April 17. “Cricket is like a religion in India,” said Nestor D’Souza, president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association of India, the body representing film exhibitors. “The stakes are high if India and Pakistan are playing. Be it old men, young men, children or even housewives - they all watch the games and no producer likes to take the risk of releasing his film when the two rivals are clashing on the cricket ground.” With each team having won two games apiece, the five-match one-day series will reach a climax in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore today when the decider is played. Thereafter three five-day Test matches will begin. The tour marks the first time in almost 15 years that a full series between the two countries is being staged. With the matches so far all producing cliffhangers, tens of millions of cricket fans have been sitting at home absorbed by the world’s current most-watched cricket series rather than venturing out to watch the latest big screen offerings. “India and Pakistan rarely play cricket against each other,” said producer Nitin Keni, who made the Pakistan-bashing super-hit film “Gadar” in 2000.
Indian PM Praises Cricket Team’s Performance in Pakistan
• In New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee mixed cricket with politics at an election rally in northern Uttar Pradesh state when he praised the cricket team’s performance in Pakistan, it was reported yesterday. “Some good cricket has been played by our cricketers in Pakistan. There is one of your sons, Mohammad Kaif, who did a splendid job,” Vajpayee said of batsman Kaif who is from Uttar Pradesh. “He (Kaif) stretched out his hand and the ball was in his grip. He hit the balls outside boundaries, changing the color of the game. And remember, he is from Uttar Pradesh,” Vajpayee told thousands of cheering supporters. “The captain (Saurav Ganguly) had come to get my blessings before going to our neighboring country. I said I did not know how to hold a cricket bat properly. How can I bless you?” The Telegraph newspaper quoted Vajpayee as saying. “I told the captain you have to win the match and win the hearts of the people. He has done both.” Vajpayee said he called Ganguly after Sunday’s victory and said, “You have lived up to my expectation, you have won both.”
Woman Kills Self After Not Being Able to Watch Match
• In New Delhi, an Indian woman committed suicide after her husband did not allow her to watch a cricket match between India and Pakistan, it was reported yesterday. Police said Ansuia, 35, a resident of the Delhi satellite town Noida, poured kerosene oil and set herself on fire after a fight with her husband on Sunday, the day India and Pakistan played their fourth match in Lahore. Her husband did not want her to watch the match as it was distracting their children from studying for their school examinations, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
India, Pakistan Also Battle for ICC Ranking
• In Lahore, India will have more than just pride at stake in today’s deciding one-dayer against Pakistan, as a win would see them leapfrog their rivals in the cricket ratings. If the tourists win the final game and clinch the five-match series, currently deadlocked 2-2, they will climb above Pakistan in the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s official one-day rankings to fifth place. However if Pakistan win the day-night game at the Gaddafi Stadium, Inzamam ul-Haq’s side will retain its fifth place with an improved rating while India will stay at seven. Pakistan are currently on 107 points, behind world champions Australia (135), South Africa (113), and Sri Lanka and New Zealand with 109 each. India, last year’s World Cup finalists, are tied with England on 106 points, but if Saurav Ganguly’s men win today they will move to 107 and Pakistan will drop to 106. This will leave India in fifth place and Pakistan on sixth, an ICC release said. A Pakistani win would increase their rating to 108, while India would fall behind England to 105. A tied match will leave Pakistan with a one-point lead over India, the release said.
