It’s Chacha v Bhatija at Motera

India fan Ashok Chakravarthy and Pakistan fan Chicago Chacha (right) outside the Narendra Modi Stadium yesterday. Pics/Ashwin Ferro

The now famous Pakistani fan Chicago Chacha was in his element outside the main gate of the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday, eagerly discussing the upcoming high intensity Indo-Pak clash with fans. However, he was in for a surprise when confronted by Ashok Chakravarthy, who calls himself a superfan from Kolkata. Both Chacha and Chakravarthy began talking about why their respective favourite teams should win this one. "Pakistan have a good bowling attack and of course, Babar Azam is a great captain," said Chacha. "India captain Rohit Sharma, who scored a big ton against Afghanistan, is in great form, as are Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah is very accurate," said Chakravarthy. Realising his arguments may not hold good anymore, Chacha conceded, but not without taking the young Indian fan under his wings. "Tu toh abhi chota hai, mera bhatija jaisa hai. Kal jo bhi ho, match achcha hona chahiye [you are young, you are like my nephew. Whatever the outcome, it should be a good match tomorrow]," said Chacha as the two hugged and continued their sloganeering.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: Babar confident of turning the tide today

Black marketers making a killing
If you hover around Gate No. 1 of the Narendra Modi Stadium for just a few minutes, there is every chance that you will be approached by some shady character offering a "special rate" for tickets to the blockbuster India v Pakistan World Cup fixture here on Saturday. For a match that has been officially sold out long ago, it's surprising to see dozens of tickets available with black marketers, who are making a killing. "R13,000 for a ticket in the ‘K' stand, but I will give you two for R25,000," one tout was heard telling a young cricket enthusiast. The two haggled for a bit after which the tout added: "The ‘K' stand is in the upper part of the stadium and offers a better view. The official ticket price is Rs 2100, so you're paying much less than the black market's selling rate of 10 times the original amount."
Babar & Co enjoying fafda, jalebi.

It's less than 48 hours since they landed in Gujarat, but the Babar Azam-led Pakistan team have wasted no time in trying out the Gujarati cuisine on offer here. And they love it! "We've not had the time to go out of our hotel, but we tried some of the Gujarati food here," Azam said at the match-eve press conference. Gujarat's famous fafda and jalebi has been a particular favourite, revealed Pakistan's media manager Ahsan Nagi. "The players have had the fafda and jalebi here and they loved it. We get jalebis back home too, but the ones here are different. They are a lot richer and tasty," Nagi said.