O’Brien halts Munaf’s movie

Ireland’s reputation for being giant killers has claimed another victim - that gentle giant Munaf Patel. Taking advantage of India’s week-long break between games, Munaf and his wife went to the cinema, to watch the Bollywood thriller Saat Khoon Maaf (literally, “Seven Murders Forgiven”, about a woman who murders seven husbands). It was the evening England were playing Ireland and the murders on screen coincided with the mauling in the stadium. Just after the second murder, Munaf got an emergency call from the team camp – get back to the hotel and get your eyes on the game.

“I was called back to the hotel to watch Ireland (as they beat England). I saw only two murders in the theatre, but ended up watching many more during the Ireland-England game,” Munaf told The Indian Express, referring to Kevin O’Brien’s innings. Given that India take on Ireland on Sunday, Munaf would have been forewarned of the damage O’Brien can do – and maybe claim a few on-field victims of his own.