No flag-waving frenzy, but Dubai turns up in large numbers

An India-Pakistan cricket match means different things to different people. For Anis Sajan, an India origin businessman, it was an opportunity to build bridges. "Cricket is a sport that unites people beyond borders. My goal has always been to build bridges, not walls, and this match provided the perfect opportunity to bring communities together." He distributed about 100 tickets to the workforce from both sides of the aisle. He then opened up his house for a live-screening of the match.

For Atul Patel, an India-Pakistan match is pure joy. He travelled all the way from the US to be part of the excitement. "I haven't missed a single game between India and Pakistan," says Patel, an ardent fan. "India have won all but one that I have seen between the teams."

He was at the Oval when Pakistan beat India in the 2017 final. "See the match and move on for the next game," he philosophizes about the rivalry. The match is also a chance to connect with fellow traveling fans. He arrived at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) nearly three hours before the game began. There were many like Anis and Atul at the DICS on Sunday. There was a small reunion of Indian supporters.

For the past few days, Dubai had been buzzing with anticipation for the big match. Of the five million people living in the city, only 25,000 could be at the ground, but it's unlikely that the rest were unaware of the fixture. The promotion surrounding the contest ensured that the UAE, rather the world, knew about it.

While there was no flag-waving frenzy unmistakably seen in other parts of the world for such a match, the stands were mostly packed. The crescendo from the crowd every time Virat Kohli smashed a boundary may have been heard all the way at the distant Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper located in the heart of the city.

The organisers spared no effort in enticing fans to the ground, offering them the moon. A 30-seat VIP suite, priced at 1.5 million AED (INR 3.5 crore) for four games, came with a host of luxurious amenities. The organisers essentially were promising to pamper the spectators in the suite, which provided a panoramic view of the match. It's no wonder that all the suites were packed. A ticket to DICS was the hottest possession of the day.

The biggest star in the stands was Jasprit Bumrah, India's bowling spearhead, who is currently laid low due to an injury. He arrived just as the Indian team checked into the stadium and mingled with his teammates. Later he received four awards - Men's Cricketer Of The Year, Men's Test Cricketer Of The Year, Men's Test Team Of The Year and Men's T20 Team Of The Year International Cricket Council (ICC) Chair Jay Shah.

Suryakumar Yadav, the India T20I captain, was seen alongside a couple of his teammates, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma. Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi also made their presence felt. Abhishek was a huge draw, and when he met Akhtar, the latter expressed his delight, stating he was happy to have arrived a generation earlier on Earth. "I'm glad that I wasn't born in this era. The reason why people like this young lad," he said in a touching post on X (formerly Twitter), referring to Abhishek, the bold and explosive opener, who is known for his buccaneering and daring sixes.

The scorching Dubai heat was initially a deterrent, and tickets were reportedly available online up until the morning of the match. However, all three parties involved in organizing the event - the ICC, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) - ensured the match was a near sellout. While more than 30 percent of the stands were empty when the national anthems played in the afternoon, spectators gradually began to trickle in as the match progressed. It took hours for the stadium to fill, but by the time the last ball of the night was bowled, it was a near full house.

The game, however, was not heavy on the glamour quotient - an otherwise common feature when the arch-rivals clash, particularly in this part of the world. A few high-profile figures from the tinsel world were spotted sporadically, but it was the cricket and the teams that made the headlines. Cricket, India and Kohli were the winners of the night.