MIG
PakPassion Administrator
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2004
- Runs
- 43,972
Imagine the setting – Its late summer in Toronto, with signs of autumn round the corner. Pakistan are back in Toronto to face arch enemies, India – Miggy has tickets for all games ! Could it get any better ? Read on to find out what really happened when Miggy (almost) met Inzi !..Fellow members - my friends, let me take you back in time ( not to the time of the Dinosaurs as that would give my real age away) - The year is 1997, the month September and the city is Toronto.
It’s the 2nd year of the Sahara Cup - a 5 match ODI series, which Pakistan have won 3-2 last year. Pakistani and mostly Indian fans have started arriving in the city from far flung places like NY and even the Bahamas! It’s a cracker of a series and our man Miggy is foaming at the mouth to be part of this extravaganza!
But first, a little history - Pakistans last outing at the Sahara cup was excellent – The opening year of what promised to be an annual event for 5 years yielded some magnificent performances from Wasim and Waqar and I had seen it all. So one can imagine the eager anticipation with which I now approach this series. The fact that most of the big guns (among bowlers) are missing isn’t enough deterrent for our Miggys hopes. As a good Pakistani fan, victory is the only outcome!
And so we join our hero Miggy in the second game of the series, the first one taken by India….
It’s the second match of the series, Pakistani batting order is being blown away by the likes of Mighty Mohanty and the first human on stilts, Kuruvilla (was he ever heard of again?). Captain Rameez Raja’s dreams of a career in commentating on TV are approaching faster than he thinks – his captaincy and his decision to bat first on a pitch that should have aided our bowlers has won him no friends. As the drama on the field continues with Pakistani batting crumbling at a fast rate, another disaster beckons with open arms at the boundary ropes.
Fans are being constantly bombarded by a unique idiot - an Indian fan with a mega phone, a booming voice and very minimal mental abilities. YES , you heard/read me right – with a small ground like the Toronto Ice Skating and Curling Club – there is a chap with a mega phone, engaged in constant hoarse voiced chatter! The subject of Shiv Singh of Jallundhar’s sermons is Azharuddin’s new wife (Sangeeta Bajalani) and her various attributes, Salim Malik (referred to as Buddha Sher or Old lion) and sadly for our friend and his instrument – Inzamam whom he lovingly refers to as Mota Aalloo. To add further spice to this story, this fine specimen of the human race, happens to be sitting in the same stand as our man Miggy - if there ever was a recipe for disaster – this is it!
Most of the people in this stand are Indian but even they are irritated - no one says a thing – why bother they ask? In the meanwhile, Miggy looks around and finds a youngish Pakistani couple sitting quietly among the noisy Indian support – Miggy also notices a faint smell of kebabs emanating from that direction and decides to hedge his bets in the vain hope that they might want to share their lunch with (young) Miggy? Introductions are made (“App bhee Pakistani hain? Allah ka shukur hai!”) and we settle down to watch the rest of the carnage.
Back to the game and the Indian reply starts – Saba Karim the makeshift opener and Ganguly (enjoying the form of his life) make mince meal of Pak bowling attack before Saba is out – and Dravid walks in. No problems so far for anyone on or off the field. However, a certain Pakistani player is not happy – he usually fields in the slips and is well known for minimal movement but he has had enough of the abuse – he is now biding his time (more like a bear than a tiger if I may add!). The score gets to 45/1 and a drinks break. Miggy settles back – time to munch on some crisps and be part take in a few kebabs. But something strange happens on the field. Our gentle giant is handed a bat in his hand by another player who is not known for his cricketing skills but is about to become a hall of famer. His name is Mohammad Hussain and he hands the bat to Inzamam. The rest of the players who are casually consuming drinks in this break are not concerned – Rameez is busy thinking about his next press conference and excuses to explain this defeat. No one notices but Miggy watches with fascination – why does Inzi need a bat, he wonders? Pakistan are fielding – why would he need a bat. In the background, the incessant Mota Alloo chatter continues like a machine gun and then the most unlikely event happens. Inzi starts to walk fast, then slowly jog and then starts to run towards our stand. “Aha”, remarks Miggy to his fellow kebab eaters, “Inzi must have seen our support from this stand and wants to thank us personally!”
As Inzi approaches Miggys stand, the mega man raises his tempo – imagine if you will – Inzi in slow motion running with a bat in his hand, with Mohammad Hussain in tow – the sound of “Mota Alloo” in the background and the most surreal of scenes renders itself clearly in everyone’s minds! And then like a galloping horse jumping a barrier, Inzi clears the stand wall in one giant leap – past a gaping Miggy and his kebabi friends.
All hell breaks lose – shouts of “array sala” followed by many words that cannot be repeated on a family show – you get the idea. Inzi disappears in the stand and in the melee we all see a mega phone being thrown up and then the momentarily, everyone present catches the sight of Inzi laying into Shiv Singh of Jallundhar. Inzi, then drags our friend on to the field, followed by a huge number of his admirers ( the same bunch of people who were supposedly fed up with this chap!). A bat is then seeing going up in the air as Inzi prepares to strike but then utter confusion and no one knows if the bat landed or not! Metro Police officers finally wake up and try and restore order. The Indian fans are having none of that - they want Inzis blood! Confusion reigns supreme for many minutes, punctuated by appeals for calm by Rameez, Sachin and Azharuddin – there is no respite from the anger by the fans – shouts of destroy Pakistan etc are heard . Miggy realizes the fact that claiming a Pakistani origin at this moment is equivalent to certain death, so he keeps quiet. Not so his new found kebabi friends. The lady in the couple, stands on one of the seats and shouts with all her might “Array Indiano, hum Pakistani hain – may tum sub ko dekh loongee” . The events that follow that little speech could be from 1947….. a 1000 eyes focus on us three and Miggy freezes ( mind you, to his credit, the kebab still held firmly in his hand). Animal instincts say “bhago bhaiya” but thankfully a kind gentleman of Indian origin steps in and makes the obligatory “why can we get along” type noise. The situation is defused – crisis has passed and Miggy can eat his kebab!
The game finally resumes and India win the match – in fact they win the next 2 games as well.
And what of Inzi ? Mike Hendrick the match referee charges Inzi under item 2 of the ICC code of conduct, that is conduct unbecoming of an international cricket player and for bringing the game into disrepute. He is found to have breached this item of the code and consequently suspended for the next two one-day matches. [Shiv Singh of Jullundhar files assault charges a few months later, but there is an out of court settlement.]
And finally on to the 5th game, Pakistan taste success after the axe-man (Ijaz) and the Afridi hammer a memorable 109 run opening partnership. Inzi, having served his 2 match ban makes an appearance and scores a sedate 71 amongst some massive booing and cat calling but thankfully, Shiv Singh of Jullundhar is absent on that day ! The game ends in the most unspectacular fashion, with Pakistan needing a run to win, Kuruvilla bowls a high bouncer and the umpire signals a no ball – game over. Inzi turns around and walks to the pavilion and poor Miggy catches the last glimpse of his hero.
Epilogue:
So was is it all a storm in a tea cup for Inzi - did he have to go overboard like that ? Indeed to the uninformed Canadian reader the fuss about the whole situation was not clear - the Toronto Sun headlines from the day after the incident looked very funny indeed – it read “Indian supporter attacked by Pakistani cricketer on being called a Fat Potato”!! But please do spare a thought for our Miggy as well – this is the closest Miggy would ever get to Inzi in his life but then, on reflection, the kebabs were well worth it – weren’t they ?
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