The ODIs between India and Pakistan were played on a dream script. India wins first match, as they are guests, Pakistan wins second to level series, wins third to prove an upper hand and lift spirits, loses fourth so India isn't knocked out of the game, and loses fifth, so India can take home the Samsung cup and return as heroes. Now if I had blogged thys two weeks ago, when I was about to, my claims would have been met with less scepticism. But now that the matches have ended, I may be labelled a 'typical paki who cannot accept reality… the paki cricket team sux'. Call it what you want mate, I know better. A friend of mine from work was really excited about getting tickets for the matches scheduled for Lahore. I told him there was no point in going, because Pakistan was going to lose both. "Don't tell me!" He said, "You are one of those cynical types who think all games are fixed. That's so disgusting!" I guess one reason I didn't want to put it down in writing before was, well... reading something somehow makes you believe it... "if someone's taken the effort to write it, it must be true" And you sit there praying till the last minute you are wrong, and that rumours of pre-decided cricket matches are false. You pray till the last minute that politics is kept away from the pavilions. You pray till the last minute that the game is played in its true spirit, and that may the best team win. But that doesn't happen in the real world. In the real world, someone decides we want to bring the Indian team to Pakistan, let them win the one days, and let Pakistan replies by winning the test series. Oh, hurrah! In the real world, the umpires swallow lbws, top bowlers bowl three to five extra overs, and top order batsmen throw away their wickets. In the real world, these cricketers are pawns on a chessboard, being played by higher powers. And that's what's disgusting. One good thing came out of knowing who would win in the end though. My friend's husband was betting on the wrong teams. For the last match, I told him to put his money on India. *Shrugs* And how have the Indians been faring in Pakistan? Well, despite my sickness, I insisted we go out and play 'spot the Indian'. It was fun. Went to purani anarkali (the infamous food street), where they were present in hordes, and the Pearl Continental, where a lot of them are staying. (and the security there is worth a blog of its own). Sardarjis from Amritsar, snazzy kids from mumbai (with their camcorders), and aunties from delhi. All seemed to be having a good tym... except the few unsuspecting ones, who got trapped by the typical Lahori crowd. Jugatbaz marasi kaum. It was sad, really. These innocuous kinds were quickly turned into fodder by groups of young boys out looking for some fun. And I hear a sardarji was beaten up badly at the Lahore stadium today. No one came forward to help, or to stop the jerks, and when finally the cops arrived (after all had been said and done), they turned a blind eye, in their usual fashion. So much for security, bah! I wish I could find the sardarji and apologize for what happened. Because what those guys did, reflects badly on all of us. *Sigh* I don't think the media is going to come forward and report these events; that would be going against the flavour of the month. Fortunately, stories of such confrontations have been few and far between. I wonder. Will we ever really be prepared to accept guests from across the border? And they us? Hatred borne and bred for over half a century cannot be extinguished in one lousy cricket season. And why the sudden winds of change? Why the sudden love thy neighbour? Love schmuck? Someone is planning a fast one. Who and when... that is the question. Anyways. Read thys somewhere. India say dosti manzoor; Sindh say dosti Namanzoor Hah! Ha ha!