Editorial
Cricket as a confidence builder
A bridge built across Indo-Pak border
India's maiden series victories, both in the ODI and Test versions of the game on Pakistan soil, must have given the Indians a rare taste of triumph. More so, when it comes after 15 years of total aridity in their bilateral cricketing relationship. But there were good competitive encounters as would be borne out by 3-2 ODI and 2-1 Test victories by India. On the whole, however, India made a clean sweep of the matches in that all the records tumbled in favour of India. But Pakistan discovered some new talents, and cricket overall, was of a reasonably good standard. Both sides have had things to learn from each other and the popularity of cricket may have reverted back to its original crescendo in the hearts and minds of both the peoples. Basically, it was a triumph of cricket in more ways than one. First, the world cricket was poorer without the Indo-Pak encounters which acquired a sub-continental equivalence to the Ashes series between England and Australia. Now, this void has been filled in. In the essence, the enormous cricketing appetite among the lovers of the game on both sides of the border seems poised to be whetted. It is no occasion to clinically analyse the games nor to measure who earned how many millions in advertisement revenue. Nor should we try to gauge how much political mileage BJP will gain from the victories of the cricket team they had sent to Pakistan. In fact, Vajpayee has said, "The idea for the test of willows came from Pervez Musharraf." The reciprocal feelings are to be noted, and between the two they refashioned the continuity of bilateral cricket in the region. There will be ecstasy for the victor and agony for the loser. That is only natural in any sporting encounter; maybe it is more intense in the case of India and Pakistan. But the overarching fact is that the latest mending episode was featured by warming of relations at the people-to-people level. Eight thousand Indian cricket supporters visited Lahore to witness the third and final test. They were effusive in praise of Pakistani hospitality. That is of the stuff good relations are made.
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