Cardiff: The train from Birmingham to Cardiff takes two hours and cool weather followed me all the way. The semi-final battle between England and Pakistan in Cardiff on Wednesday is expected to be the hottest clash of the tournament.
It is approximately a 15-minute walk from Cardiff central station to the stadium, and a few flags and placards left behind by fans after the Sri Lanka-Pakistan match could be seen littered all the way.
Pakistan fans went berserk after their team beat Sri Lanka and all newspapers here have carried pictures of their celebrations showing some fans carrying huge drums that they played during the match.
Celebrations by the Pakistan fans were so exciting that some Sri Lankan fans too joined them all the way back to the Cardiff Central station. Sri Lankans are well known for their love of music and dance. A Sri Lankan at the stadium even said: “There is no point brooding over a match we played very badly; so it is no wonder that most of us decided to enjoy the rest of the day with the winners.”
The Welsh government has done everything possible to showcase Wales to the world through the Champions Trophy. The walkway to the stadium from the railway station is colourful with banners saying “Welcome to Cardiff — the capital of creativity”.
As you near the stadium, a larger-than-life superhero-inspired mural depicting the story of the tournament in a comic strip can be seen. It was created by cartoonist John McCrea.
On the way to the stadium, a board in front of a restaurant said: “Indian curry and rice available for cricket fans.” In the 2013 Champions Trophy, food stalls offering Pakistan food were seen all the way; but this time as it is Ramadan, billboards saying ‘Halal meat & chicken available’ were missing.
The Pakistan team has been put up at the Vales Golf Resort. Unfortunately, the team has very few golf enthusiasts unlike the other teams. Former cricketers like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis enjoy playing golf and always make time to play a few rounds during their visits to Dubai. In the present Pakistan team, only Shoaib Malek is a good golf player, while the rest consider it as a beautiful resort to relax after a hard day’s play.
The ICC official merchandise outlet hasn’t sold out of the Sri Lankan team jersey, and it still hangs alongside the Pakistan jersey. Inside the stadium, England players were seen working hard on their fielding with Joe Root taking some brilliant running catches. Pakistan had worked very hard on their fielding before the Sri Lanka match and that is what gave them the upper hand in their game last time.
