In the battle of the Crescent and Moon versus the Tri-colour there was only one winner in Edgbaston as India's fans comfortably outnumbered their opposite numbers
India flags displayed before the game against Pakistan. Pic/Anand Vasu
In the battle of the Crescent and Moon versus the Tri-colour there was only one winner in Edgbaston as India's fans comfortably outnumbered their opposite numbers. Well before the match began, fans thronged the stadium braving the heightened security on the back of the London attacks.
Security was so tight that Amitabh Chaudhary, the BCCI secretary was stopped from entering the ground as his accreditation ID had not been fed into the back-end system. Sourav Ganguly was at hand to help Chaudhary in, amidst chuckles from the security guards at the gate.
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The Indian team did not enjoy a much better welcome, a group of belligerent Pakistan supporters raising slogans against the Indian government and army, waving placards in support of a free Kashmir. The players, thankfully, were in their cocoon in the team bus, and did not respond in any manner.
Beer flows
While the action out in the middle was all about India, the fun in the stands and outside the ground was more of a contest. As the beer flowed - Kingfisher retailing at pounds 4.50 a pint - the skirmishes between fans got more and more rowdy, and when an intrepid photographer raced across to capture a few frames, he was quickly singled out and sent packing back to where he could capture the on-field action from.
Officer kept busy
At one of the gates closest to the one the players use, Officer Evans of the West Midlands Police was kept on his toes. Not only did he have to keep a keen eye out for any unattended items - the most dangerous of which was an empty tea cup that some laggard had left behind - he was forced to give chase when a suspicious character tried to enter the ground with a syringe in hand. When Evans finally detained the man, it turned out that he was a doctor, but he could not provide any good reason why he had the syringe with him for a game of cricket. And, while reporters wondered if it was an Indian or Pakistani, it turned out to be a local, as white as they come.
That minor incident apart, the day went off as peacefully as an India-Pakistan encounter could. And, just to prove how big this game was, the attendance was a record 24156. In all their attempts, England have never drawn such a big crowd at Edgbaston.
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