It's match-on in the stands

Rahul Dravid in his press conference on Monday made a point that the Glasgow crowd will not be as vociferous and dynamic, in size and activity, as, say, Kolkata or Karachi. He was right, in one way at least. Clyesdale Cricket Club in Glasgow is no Eden Gardens or National Stadium; in size, in capacity and noise levels.

However, bring an Indian team and a Pakistani team to any ground in the world and you will see the colours and hear the noise rarely witnessed outside the subcontinent. The lineup includes blowhorns, face painting and dhol with dedicated cronies performing their bhangra while dancing away. Witnessed regularly in India, Pakistan, England, and even Canada, the cricket fever has now gripped Scotland.

And while the start of the match was pushed back, it was left to the fervent crowd, that had braved heavy rain and puddles en route the stadium, to have a contest of their own. Pakistan and India were playing each other on Scottish soil for the first time and hence their respective followers pitted against each other for the first time as well.

From the pavilion end, it is the Indian attack - equipped with a dhol and donning replica jerseys and greeting their squad announcements done on the PA with drumrolls, dholrolls rather. Seated on the opposite end of the ground, it was the green contingent. No talented dhol-bangers spotted there but just an array of blowhorns and plenty of boos in reply to the Indian cheers, as the Pakistani support took guard.

Match on.

"This is simply amazing. Just to come out here and see the teams lining up. Yes, the rain has ruined what could have been a fantastic encounter," says one spectator. Majority, if not all, were British citizens. Why support a team other than your nation, I asked. "It's in our blood," replied both sets. "England's cricket team is no where near as exciting as either of these two," said one. "They play boring cricket, not something I'd like to sit through."

One fan had traveled all the way from Karachi for this very encounter. "My last Pakistan-India match was in Karachi. I must say it feels a bit dead compared to the 35,000 capacity crowd banging bottles on chairs but it should, hopefully, pick up once (if) the match starts," she observes. Pity there might not be any action here to compare with the last outing.

The rain has dampened the outfield that will take a few hours to dry up, providing there is a respite from the intermittent outburst. However, the action has now moved behind the stands; to the food stalls. And as the flags make way for umbrellas due to yet another downpour, it is the Indians drawing first blood.