The Epic Clash I witnessed live

A day before the match was scheduled, I finally got a confirmation that they had managed a extra ticket for me. It brought a sense of relief as I could not even bear the thought of missing an India-Pakistan encounter, when it was help at such a distance of less than 300 km.

Watching India and Pakistan battle it out in the Clash of the Titans was an extraordinary experience

Having experienced loads of emotions of different kinds at the Motera in the last match, I knew this was going to great fun. From the lull when Indian wickets fell in a heap to the cheer for Sachin Tendulkar’s 18000th ODI run, Ahmedabad had been a fabulous experience. I thought to myself, that even if India win in a one-sided match, I would not mind. All the thoughts of been thrilled after watching a close encounter look vague when you especially travel to far away location and your team loses. So, all I cared about now was an India win.

The epic day started off in fabulous fashion. We drove to Mohali in a classy Mercedes-Benz, quite a way to start the day I thought. Half a dozen hours later, I was sitting in the PCA Stadium’s North stand. With fantastic seats, we had good view from the position of long off or fine-leg. As time went on, the stadium started getting filled and the two teams came out in groups to practice. Like Ahmedabad, the loudest cheer was for the man called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Just in a bit, Ramiz Raja and Sourav Ganguly were out in the middle inspecting the pitch. The toss resulted in the biggest cheer so far as MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. There is most definitely no better way of pumping up any home crowd than to play their national anthem. It gave goosebumps and it is probably one of the proudest moments in my life. A few moments later, flamboyant Virender Sehwag and legendary Sachin Tendulkar walked out.

Umar Gul started off waywardly much to the delight of 28000 plus people present in the packed up stadium. It was the ideal start to a big Semi-Final. Expecting Pakistan to roll over and die, would have been stupid and they provided good resistance by picking up the crucial wicket of Virender Sehwag.

The day seemed especially Sachin Tendulkar since he was dropped not once, not twice but four times by the Pakistani fielders. He went on to make a not so fluent 85, even though every run he scored was still cheered. Unfortunately, not too many Indian batsmen supported Tendulkar with only Gautam Gambhir getting a start in the top order. Speedster Wahab Riaz was bowling exceptionally well as he managed to get five wickets including a beauty to get rid of local boy Yuvraj Singh. The crowd was stunned and once again, I went through the same emotions as Ahmedabad. I kept being positive and kept cheering for Team India, thinking we play seven batsmen for a day like today.

Skipper MS Dhoni scratched around in the middle to make 25, but the knock which really mattered was that of Suresh Raina who managed to score a quick 36 and pushed India to a respectable 260. With things not looking great for them, fans had obviously started becoming all pessimistic. Everything, from dropping of R Ashwin to MS Dhoni’s poor batting form was criticized heavily in the break. People had started talking how poor India’s bowling except Zaheer Khan was, and said they expected match to be over within 30 overs. I was still positive, because I had come this far to cheer my team on and I knew that is what I would keep doing till the match was over.

After a steady opening partnership between Kamran Akmal and Mohammed Hafeez which had made all the fans quite nervous, Zaheer Khan provided the much needed breakthrough. The turning point though, was probably the wicket of Asad Shafiq who was looking set for a big one. Younis Khan never looked like he would trouble us. Neither did Misbah-ul Haq who just kept playing into a shell. Umar Akmal though, did give the crowd some scare by hitting a couple of sixes of Yuvraj Singh.

Punjab’s very own Harbhajan Singh bowled junior Akmal with a superb doosra and the match was in India’s favour. The crowds were in the mood to party and typical Punjabi songs were the perfect background they needed. As soon as Virender Sehwag took Afridi’s catch, the chance of a Pakistani win became miniscule. Everyone was in the mood to party, even uncles who were past their 50s, were dancing and singing.

The high point of the day was singing Vande Mataram with everyone, as Umar Gul departed. One might not get the comfort of watching a match at home, we might have to stand in queues hours before the match and bare the sun as well, but these little moments make all the effort and money worth it. What followed were chants of ‘Wankhede – Wankhede’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.

India were now just one step away from lifting the cup that the whole country dearly wanted. The mood of the crowd was even more amazing than Ahmedabad, not only because India had just beaten Pakistan, but also because it was a Semi-Final. Must mention, there were no anti-Pakistani banters throughout the game, which was lovely spirit shown by the crowd.

Brilliant experience once again as I went back feeling proud of my team and my country. Jai Ho !!