Adelaide all set for Indo-Pak match

Immigration officials in India, flight attendants, customs officials in Australia, cab drivers in this South Australian capital, everybody has just two questions – are you going for cricket or are you here for cricket depending upon where you are at a particular point of your journey.

The Indian immigration officials, otherwise stiff characters, break into a broad grin when you tell them you are going to report the World Cup. Suddenly myriad questions are thrown at you. From Yuvraj Singh’s exclusion to India’s bowling to Virat Kohli’s lean patch, a quick SWAT analysis is forced upon you even as other travellers wait impatiently for their documents to be checked.

It’s the same at the Australian customs but only that the questions differ.

Customs official: Are you here for cricket sir? “That’s right sir.”

Official: Lovely… Are you carrying any processed food because I suspect you are going to be here for a long time? “No”. Are you carrying more than 50 cigarettes, the allowed limit? “No, I don’t smoke anyway”. “Hope your pair of spare snickers is clean enough? “Hmm… you can check please.”  

But then the official is of Indian origin and he should know our lifestyle. Who can forget Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag being fined for not declaring their dirty footwear during India’s tour of New Zealand in 2002? 

As you come out of the airport after being stuck in a long immigration queue and customs clearance, the lady behind the counter at a currency exchange office instinctively knows you are here for cricket. She is extra courteous and suggests ways to avoid paying commission while exchanging money! She sends you off with a ‘go India’ shout, loud enough to attract the attention of other travellers.

The Cup fever was slow to pick up in this country but the two matches scheduled on the first two days of the tournament – Australia vs England at the MCG on Saturday and India vs Pakistan here on Sunday – have generated enough heat, not in the least because of their traditional rivalries.

Sensing the vast potential to attract tourists from the sub-continent, and especially India, the South Australian government, along with its tourism commission, had laid out a specific strategy in bidding for a schedule that would guarantee the maximum exposure for Adelaide and South Australia.

And is there a better way to promote tourism in the Indian sub-continent than hosting an India-Pakistan match? And as it turned out, the tickets for easily the biggest game of the league stage were sold out in a matter of few hours. And the World Cup organisers, just to ensure that the 50000-plus capacity Adelaide Oval is full to the brims, released a further 3000 tickets which were snapped up in no time on Friday.

The crowd support is going to be crucial in any India-Pak match which is all about handling the pressure on better. The tension in the middle is matched only by the excitement in the stands.

“The crowd lifts the morale of the team,” admitted Pakistan chief selector Moin Khan, who has been part of many a memorable Indo-Pak battle. “The players also feel good when they have good support. They get inspired and motivated because there are a lot of fans who are cheering for the side back home and from the boundary line. It also helps to perform well in the ground,” noted the former Pakistan skipper.

Like anywhere else in the world, the Indian supporters are expected to outnumber the Pakistani fans but rest assured their numbers won’t be insignificant to ignore. “Wherever we play against India (outside the sub-continent), both teams get good support,” said Moin. “We have a lot of fans coming to the ground. Whenever we play against India in India it is something different. Here at Adelaide, it is going to be a balanced crowd.”

The hotels and airlines are making a killing out of this fans’ influx into Adelaide from the sub-continent and from within Australia. Unless you spend a fortune, you are not going to be on board to Adelaide and after landing here, you have to cut a deeper hole in your pocket for accommodation; if it’s available, that is.