Local clubs, communities cash in on flavour

A handful of fans waited for the Indian players to walk up to the team bus after training at St Peters College. As repeated screaming of names failed to get any attention, as is so often the case with the Indian team, someone came up with a novel idea. "Shout that you are an Indian married to a Pakistani," he said to a friend standing with a tricolor in his hand. "Are you mad?" came the surprised retort. "Why not? That is a sure way to get noticed. Zubaan toh ek hi hai [The language is the same]."

Thousands of people relating to that zubaan - the term understood on both sides of the Wagah border - have descended, and are continuing to arrive, in Adelaide for the World Cup match between India and Pakistan. The small group of fans at St Peters College was enough to give an idea of the sheer diversity on display.

Hiten stays in London, was born and brought up in Kenya, and hails from the Kutch region of Gujarat state in India. He planned his trip to Adelaide and Melbourne for India-South Africa a year in advance. There were close to a hundred people of Indian or Pakistani origin on his flight from London alone, he said, all headed to Adelaide for the game.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has said that the match was sold out "in 20 minutes." The South Australia government is expecting upto 35,000 people from outside the state for the blockbuster Sunday clash. And obviously, "we want to make sure World Cup visitors don't just go to the cricket," state tourism minister Leon Bignell said last month. The match has turned into a significant tourism booster for Adelaide and South Australia, with the influx expected to generate big business for hotels, retailers, vineyards and so on.

"Yesterday, we had breakfast at some vineyard. Let's see where they take us tomorrow," said Raj Kumar, a man from the hill state of Himachal Pradesh in north India, even as he called for some more dal at the Tandoori Hut restaurant on Hindley Street, lined with pubs and restaurants of all types. He is part of a group of 40 Indians on a five-day tour of Adelaide, sponsored by the multinational beverages giant he works for back home. Indian restaurants in Adelaide, such as Tandoori Hut, have arranged special buffet spreads for such groups.

The state government has launched a dedicated website for visitors coming to Adelaide for the World Cup, including sections on where to find vegetarian and halal food. They have several options, a result of more than 26,000 South Australians having Indian ancestry, according to state multicultural affairs minister Zoe Bettison.

The community has in excess of 40 clubs and organisations. Over a thousand people turned up last month at Kilburn Cricket Club to watch the inaugural Friendship Cup match between players from the local Indian and Pakistani communities. The Multicultural Sports and Community Club and the South Australian Cricket Association came up with the event, which was called "one of the most historic days in both our communities," by Shahyan Shabbir, chairperson of the Pakistani Australian Association of South Australia. "I think it's the first collaboration in four or five decades," he told the SACA website.

The Swami Army, the Australia-based Indian fan group, has over a thousand members in Adelaide. They have planned a "march" across the bridge on Torrens River to the Adelaide Oval on the day of the game. Kartik Ayyalasomayajula, one of the founding members of the group, estimates that the walk, which usually takes five minutes, could last up to half an hour on Sunday, as upwards of a thousand fans cheer their way to the ground.

Darren Chandler, general manager, operations and commercial at Adelaide Oval is used to massive crowds after the stadium upgrade. More than 50,000 have packed the stands for Australian Football League and Big Bash League matches recently.

"Get in here early, and make as much noise as you possibly can," is his advice for fans of both countries. He says that the new, tall stands generate such a din that they have had to increase the decibel levels for the sirens at the ground during AFL games.

Chandler and his team have put in a gargantuan effort to get Adelaide Oval ready for the tournament, with the India-Pakistan clash the highlight. Close to 1500 people, including temporary staff, not including SACA and government employees, have worked to get things in order for an event, which will be watched by billions across the world. Chandler says they have had their minds focused on this one for the past 18 months, despite having had to run big events across sporting disciplines during the time.

The effort will have been well deserved too, considering that thousands more are expected to stream into Adelaide on Saturday as well as on the morning of the match. One of them will be Neha Paranjape, who was heartbroken at having been held up at work and missing the World Cup opening ceremony in her hometown Christchurch. She had been expecting the emotional occasion for months following the earthquake that hit Christchurch in 2011. Now she can't wait for her early morning flight to Adelaide on Saturday. For be it New Zealand or Australia, England or South Africa, wherever India and Pakistan play each other, the zubaan remains the same.