As idyllic Adelaide gets on with its serene life, India and Pakistan prepare for high-octane match of tournament
Until a few years ago, Adelaide was renowned chiefly for its unusually large number of churches. Today, these pristine temples of worship are outnumbered by pubs, taverns and nightclubs. But there is no doubt that this quaint and idyllic city, dotted with old-fashioned markets, green parklands and lovely fountains, is also the most beautiful in the country. Built with stone and rendered brick, it also prides itself of having no convict history. Often known as the "20-minute city", its inhabitants are "chilled out" in every sense of the word. So much so that even if an olive ridley sea turtle were to cross the road, then a speeding Merc convertible would have no qualms about coming to a halt.
It is in this old-world-meets-new city that India and Pakistan will get their World Cup campaigns under way on Sunday. If nothing, that's slightly odd in the sense that Adelaide is way too peaceful to host such a high-octane clash. On Friday, both teams trained diligently at venues located exactly 3 kms apart. If MS Dhoni & Co. went through the paces in the leafy environs of the St Peter's College in the suburb of Hackney, then Misbah-ul-Haq and his history-chasing boys went about their business at the Adelaide Oval, which is also the venue for the blockbuster fixture.
There was something noticeably different about the die-hard supporters who made their way to these venues. If the Indian fans, armed with high-end DSLR cameras, wore a confident, we-know-you-guys-will-get-the-job-done look on their faces, the Pakistanis were all pumped up with their sloganeering. "Inshallah (God-willing)" and "Jeetega bhai jeetaga, Pakistan jeetega (Pakistan will win it) were some of the chants one heard. And the players, from Misbah to the superstar Shahid Afridi, displayed the same fervour while signing autographs and posing for pictures. One gentleman, who flew in from the troubled Quetta region, was so kicked about his maiden visit to Australia that he proclaimed –– loudly and proudly –– that "I have come here to witness my team defeat 'Indeeyaaa' for the first time in a World Cup match. We have to end the 23 years of pain". It was as if he was manifesting reality. At some level, it was scary. Misbah appeared to have concurred with the elderly man, but offered just a smile.
The Indians went about their training session with customary discipline, kicking things off with, well, a game of football. A couple of coffee tables near the bowler's end made for unusual viewing, but it was probably meant for one of the throwdown-givers who wanted to reach the heights of the 7'1"-tall Mohammad Irfan. The furniture wasn't put to any use, though.
The sight of young boys and girls, all dressed in grey shorts/skirts, white half-sleeve shirts and blue ties, may have put the players at ease. But it didn't stop any of them from giving the white ball a good whack every now and then. The kids, clearly enjoying their time on the grass banks, didn't move an inch, though. The remainder of the practice session was remarkably mundane.
At the Adelaide Oval, Afridi said something out of the ordinary. When asked by a Pakistani journalist how he planned to keep calm amid chants of "Boom, Boom Afridi" on match day, the all-rounder said, "I am going to visit a few markets and look for a good pair of ear plugs. The thing is that I get carried away when the fans chant my name. The josh (energy) gets to me. And I end up playing rash shots. I want to cut out the noise and focus on the game," he said without batting an eyelid. He was dead serious. In this era of Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy –– that's actually the title of a gripping book published in 2013 –– this seems like an unusual step. A cursory phone call to the ICC's head of media and communications elicited a calm response. "How do you think he will call for a run if he wears earplugs? In any case, as long as he is not in contact with anyone outside the field of play (electronically), it doesn't matter if he wears earplugs or, for that matter, a mask," the official said. Fair enough, right?
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