Fans and journalists liven up India–UAE match with hilarious comments

By K.R. Nayar
From Dubai International Stadium

The India-UAE match was very short in the number of overs played but long on humour. There were more jokes than strokes as fans and journalists stole the show. The match had only limited action on the field, with UAE being bowled out for 57 and India winning by nine wickets in 4.3 overs. The entire match lasted just 17.4 overs — less than the 20 overs per innings — and there was more action off the field. The press box had a lot of entertainment, with comments on the quick finish as the match ended in less than two hours after the start. A few fans, too, made some interesting comments to wipe away their disappointment.

Many had decided to arrive for the match only after their office hours. They had to walk from the faraway parking lot into the stadium and had hardly caught their breath in their seats when Indian opener Shubman Gill hit the winning shot. Some felt that India should not have been so ruthless with the UAE and could have opted to bat first, as they hadn’t played a T20 match for a while. “This match resembled UAE’s popular Abu Dhabi T10 match,” said one spectator. Another remarked: “I stay in Sharjah, and since the match got over early, even the heavy traffic back home after office hours would not have subsided by now.”

Lungi dance and Keralite Sharafu

UAE’s 22-year-old opener Alishan Sharafu, whose roots are in Kerala, faced the first delivery of the match. Indian wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, who also hails from Kerala, was behind the stumps. When Sharafu whipped Jasprit Bumrah off his hips for a boundary and also hit spinner Axar Patel for a six, a journalist colleague queried whether Samson would have appreciated Sharafu in their common language for those shots. A Keralite fan was seen celebrating with the Indian flag held at his hip level, prompting another query on whether it was an attempt to resemble a Kerala-style ‘lungi’ dance.

UAE's two batters that reached  double figures - top scorer Alishan Sharafu (22)  and Muhammad Waseem (19) 

When UAE’s Harshit Kaushik was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav on the second ball, veteran journalist R. Kaushik, who authored VVS Laxman’s 281 and Beyond and G. R. Viswanath’s Wrist Assured, seated next to this reporter in the press box, felt that his namesake had disappointed him.

Abhishek Sharma ... quick 30

Heart is for India, Mind is for UAE

When half the UAE side was back in the pavilion for 51, an interesting question was raised in the press box — would the home crowd be disappointed? In this match, with most UAE players being of Indian origin and majority of the spectators hailing from India, there was no clear home team for them. Hence, the entire crowd entertained themselves by dancing to the music played during breaks. A young boy waved a placard with the words: “Heart is for India. Mind is for UAE.”

Shubman Gill ... unbeaten 20

On love for the Indian crowd

 When this reporter asked India’s Shivam Dube how it felt to play against a home team that had more support for India, Dube smiled and said: “The love we get from the crowd is amazing. This is what Indian cricket is all about. The fans are amazing and they love us a lot. They greet us when we go to the boundary, and so we get more energy during that time.” Playing in such hot and humid conditions, it was heartening to note that the crowd’s support gave the Indian team more energy to dominate the UAE. However, this was the first time India has played here with the Dubai International Stadium only half full.

Shivam Dube.. fine spell of 3 for 4 and an excellent comment 

UAE coach Rajput says to “forget it”

When this reporter asked Lalchand Rajput, coach of the UAE team and once a member of the strong Indian team made up of legends of the game, about his message to his boys on overcoming the impact of such a huge defeat, he said: “I will tell them this is a one-off game. Just forget it. You have to move on, it’s history now. The next game will be a different day on a different wicket. We have to be positive. In cricket, these kinds of days will come. You will have good days and bad days.”

UAE coach Lalchand Rajput says forget it and move on positively 

When a journalist asked Rajput a question in Marathi, he replied in English, saying: “India is a world champion team. They have three of the best spinners in the world. Consider it as just a one-off game.”