Dubai: The crowd was divided in two halves. But unlike any other India versus Pakistan cricket match, the frenzy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night was more for an individual rather than the individual nations.
To say Salman Khan was a crowd favourite would be an understatement. Women – stretching to get a glimpse of the star – had to be escorted down from the first and second floors, for fear they would fall off from the railings.
One fan even considered divorcing her husband of eight years to be with the star. “I love Salman Khan… I was probably one of the first to buy the tickets for the game. I just need to meet him once to convince him that I am the one he needs to get married too,” Riah John, a 32-year-old homemaker and Dubai resident, said.
Forty celebrities, from Indian and Pakistan, including renowned cricket personality Shoaib Akhtar, had flown in to be part of the Celebrity Cup 2010 on Thursday and a fashion show held last night - a two–day event which organisers claim took over two years to materialise.
Khan had admitted during a press conference earlier on Thursday that the Indian team might face issues – on returning home – for agreeing to play against political rivals, Pakistan.
However, the thousands of Indian and Pakistani fans, from all over the emirates, had clearly packed away their differences for the night. “I am here to just enjoy the show. It doesn’t really matter who wins or loses,” Anand Ravi, a call centre executive and resident of Sharjah said.
Gulf News also spotted Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her husband, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malek, who said they were rooting for team India. They declined to comment further.
The walk
Before the start of the game, all 40 celebrities - dressed in blue and led by Salman – walked around the stadium, stopping at times to interact with fans, before collecting at centre stage for a group photograph.
Salman won the toss and elected to field first. However, he decided not to play and instead asked brother Sohail Khan to take over as captain.
Pakistan celebrities launched the innings with Saud and Saleem Shaikh as their opening batsmen. Saud hit a six in the first over, bowled by Indian actor Aftaab Shivdasani, but was clean bowled on the very next ball.
However, the highlight of the over was when actor Suniel Shetty sustained an injury after a ball hit him on the right foot. Fellow actors Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftaab Shivadasani and Javed Jaffery rushed to Shetty’s side and a few minutes of attention and ice packs later, the actor was back on his feet and entertained the crowd till the end of the event.
At the end of the15 overs, India had 121 to chase, which Salman said his team would chase in 11 overs itself.
He kept the promise. India won the match.
