LoC runs through Birmingham today

Indian and Pakistani fans will be sitting side by side on Sunday and neither seems to expect any tension because back home, things seem to be going well for now, writes Avirook Sen.

On the morning before, at the indoor practice area at Edgbaston, the sounds of balls hitting the bat reverberate. Like rifle shots from either side of a makeshift line of control — a ceiling-high net, part covered by an opaque white curtain. India and Pakistan are at work, preparing for the game that everything depends on in this tournament.

At stake is a huge amount of sponsorship money. Telecasters TRP ratings (you know what happens if India has to go home). The future of Mandira Bedi's wardrobe: what if no one bothers to see the rest of the blouseless sleeves?

And then, there's the slightly tricky setting of this match. Birmingham: Pakistani population close to 70,000; Indian population nearer 55,000. Where you could get into one cab and find instructions to the driver crackling out in Punjabi while Tarlok Singh and his 'party' render Sikh devotional music on local radio. And hop into another cab and find the driver listening to Qawali and trying to converse in Punjabi (what else?).

HT Image