Birmingham: Both British and Indian supporters were extremely cordial to each other at the final of the ICC Champions Trophy to the point of carrying the flags of both countries. It seems the kiosks selling flags, balloons and T shirts were well aware of the trend and had scarfs with emblems of both the Indian and England teams.
Most Indians carried both the team flags since many of them have their children born in the UK. When I asked an Indian girl holding an British flag why she was not supporting India, she said: “This is my birthplace, though my parents are from India, but I have the Indian flag too.” She then flashed her India flag. “My parents have told me to enjoy good cricket rather than support any one team.”
A little away were some ardent Indian fans wearing crowns. “I’ve spent hours preparing for this tournament since I was sure India would make it to the final. I have made this crown for myself and my friend,” said an Indian fan, who readily posed with his friends and relatives for a picture.
An English fan seemed very impressed with the behaviour of the current lot of Indian cricketers: “I have seen Indian players earlier, but this bunch is so humble and nice; but remember... nice guys don’t win,” he said.
A scribe who was seated near the scorer, commenting on England skipper Alastair Cook’s remark that he would try and end England’s wait for 38 years to win a tournament, was heard saying: “In the last 38 years we had 24 England Test captains, 19 Ashes series, seven prime ministers, four Manchester United managers and one England World Twenty20 title win. In these 38 years, we have never lifted a one-day global title.”
Everyone in the stadium was asked to stand at attention for the national anthems of both teams. When the Indian national anthem began, it began to drizzle, forcing the groundsmen to immediately cover and protect the wicket. As the national anthems played on, the groundsmen were scurrying behind the players to pull the covers over the wicket.
The efforts put in by a volunteer group called Cricketeers were very touching. They were assisting the groundsmen to pull the sheets over the pitch and even stood over the covers to prevent them from flying off in the chilly breeze.
As a bunch of fans kept chanting ‘Ole Ole, English rain’, a journalist seated close to me reminded me of a quote on women and rain: “She acts like summer and walks like rain. Birmingham is behaving that way today,” he said.
