If Rip Van Winkle were to surface in the sub-continent on Tuesday, he cannot be faulted for thinking cricket is a synonym for war. Such are the superlatives being used — particularly by the media — for Wednesday's ICC World Cup cricket semi-final match between India and Pakistan.
In fact, so jingoistic is the hype created by the media — especially 24x7 television on both sides of the border — that a blogger on Café Pyala wrote on Monday: “It's usually at times like these that I heave a sigh of relief that one does not have easy access to Indian news television channels in Pakistan. Because, really, I think adding them to the mix of frequent absurdity that Pakistan's news channels are capable of would be just too much to bear.”
Though Indian news channels cannot beam into Pakistan and vice versa, footage from India is regularly used. The more bizarre and the more shrill, the more they gain currency here and news channels are using such footage to the hilt to whip up the cricket frenzy as the two countries head for what is being billed as the “mother of all matches” and a “do or die” encounter.
The men in green are being made out to be like modern-day gladiators; particularly Pakistani captain ‘Boom Boom' Afridi and ‘Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar, though a question mark remains on his inclusion in the final 11. Cellphone companies have been making a killing as SMSs crisscross the countryside; weaving legends of the Pakistani team and taking digs at some players.
Afridi's killer instincts are being particularly flagged. Sample this: “Hindustan walon, tumhari Sheila jawan hai, Munni badnaam hai. Khayal karo, hamara Afridi Pathan hai.” Then there is a dig at wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal — who earned the reputation of being Mr. Butterfingers for dropping catches in the match against New Zealand. “India se darr nahi lagta sahib….Kamran Akmal se lagta hai'' (we aren't scared of India, but of Akmal).
Similarly, much airtime was given to the India-Pakistan couple, tennis player Sania Mirza and her cricket-playing husband Shoaib Malik; particularly after the lady tweeted: “[will] support India and [Shoaib] will support Pakistan as usual! The war is on.” This, in turn, spawned an SMS: “Shoaib Malik's request to Afridi: Shahid bhai, haath halka rakhna, SASURAAL ka maamla hai.'' (Be kind to my marital home).
The media hype and the ‘ghairat brigade' (jingoistic right wing outfits) apart, the people in general are seeing the match as a game; one that is saddled with the usual emotions associated with any engagement with India. So, they are hopeful of no power cuts during the match and not much work is expected to be done on Wednesday afternoon as arrangements are being made in many city centres to put up big television screens.
Land allotment promise
The federal government has declared Wednesday a half working day and provincial governments have willingly taken the cue. It has also directed the Pakistan Cricket Board to open up Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium for cricket-fans to view the semi-final on giant screens in a cricket ground atmosphere free-of-cost while the Punjab government has promised 25 acres to each player if the team enters the final.
