With the prospect of the first Indian cricket team in over 15 years playing in the city, a kind of frenzy has gripped the city.
The Gaddafi Stadium, host to several of the biggest matches, has received new coats of paint, new signboards and other last minute ‘touches’, so typical of any preparation for major events in the sub-continent.
For months, all through the winter, the cricketing season in Lahore, these roadside cricketers had appeared to vanish, leading to much comment about the declining popularity of cricket and the loss of public support for the game, perhaps linked to Pakistan’s declining rate of international success.
But, it would seem the prospect of an India-Pakistan series has brought the fans out of hibernation. Tailors in the city report that young women are having green clothes especially stitched for the occasion. National flags too are in demand and enterprising street vendors are setting up stalls where banners and posters can be swiftly and cheaply spray painted onto cloth.
Many hope that this evidence of mounting nationalistic frenzy will not manifest it in any kind of clash with visiting Indian fans. In the past, such ugly encounters have marred matches.
The possibility of separating fans within the stadium, is being considered. **But with Lahoris showing evidence they are ready to open their doors, and their hearts, in a show of traditional hospitality, it is hoped that this aspect of the city’s culture will dominate the cricketing contests rather than the displays of aggressive hostility that have sometimes been seen in recent years when Pakistan and India meet on the sporting field. **
k:
zinda dilan e lahore make us proud humwatno 
