Dubai: 13-year-old hopes to play international cricket after watching India-Pakistan match

India and Pakistan, whose cricket rivalry can give Argentina and Brazil’s fabled football clashes a run for their money, have played 31 times in the UAE since the first game between the two bitter South Asian rivals was hosted by Sharjah in 1984.

But all these matches in the past 40 years featured only the men’s teams.

Sunday, October 6, was a historic occasion as the women’s teams from the two countries locked horns in the UAE for the first time.

It was only fitting that the 100th T20I match at the Dubai International Stadium featured the Indian and Pakistan teams.

But little did anybody expect to see a large crowd at the stadium for this group stage game in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

The early kick off at 2 pm in Dubai’s intense heat was a challenge, but it did little to break cricket fans’ spirit as 16,000 people turned up to witness the contest, a new record for a group stage game in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. While Pakistan were outclassed by India on the field, the Indian fans also won the battle off it, completely outnumbering the Pakistani supporters in the stands.

So big was the Indian crowd that Pakistani fans were pushed into tiny pockets in the stands.

Among the roaring Indian fans was Deepak Pandey, his wife, Manisha, 13-year-old daughter Sharika and eight-year-old son Arjan.

“We have just moved here to Dubai from India six months ago, and this is our first opportunity to watch an international cricket match. It’s an incredible experience for us to be among this crowd,” Deepak told the Khaleej Times.

“I think it shows the passion people have here for cricket, so this heat is nothing. You can see the people, cheering for the team, the vibe, it’s fantastic.”

Manisha, who plays cricket in her school, Ambassador School, said it would be a dream come true if she got an opportunity to play for her adopted home, the UAE.

“Yes, it’s a dream to play international cricket. Since I live in the UAE now, it would be amazing if I get a chance to play for the team,” she said.

A big fan of India’s elegant left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana, Manisha was also inspired to play cricket seriously after meeting UAE’s talented spinner Vaishnave Mahesh.

“It was wonderful meeting Vaishnave at our school recently. She came when we had the T20 World Cup trophy tour at our school, it was wonderful hearing stories about women’s cricket from her,” she said.

Deepak is now fully occupied in his children’s cricket ambition.

“My son has also started playing. So everyday when I am back from office in the evening, they are batting and I have to bowl to them,” he said.

“That’s become a part of my life, bowling to them after coming back from work. They are always knocking the ball, there are hole in the wall now!”

Meanwhile, Parvathi Pillai, who attended the match with her father, Shiny and mother, Sindhu, could not hide her joy of seeing players from her favourite IPL franchise RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore).

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