Colombo Diary, Day 1: The Capital Waits For The Real Deal - India vs Pakistan
The India vs Pakistan clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium is still days away, and yet it already feels like match day.
Colombo is counting down. Not in hours or minutes just yet - but in murmurs, in glances at hotel lobbies, in WhatsApp groups lighting up, in cab drivers tracking arrivals like air traffic controllers. The India vs Pakistan clash at the R. Premadasa Stadium is still days away, and yet it already feels like match day. As we turned into Temple Road, that familiar stretch leading to Premadasa, there was cricket being played - Ireland taking on Australia. The stadium was not even half full. The cheers were sporadic, polite. But those who had turned up knew something bigger loomed on the horizon. This was the opening act. Sri Lanka, and perhaps the cricketing world, is waiting for the real deal later this week.
India vs Pakistan.
Driving from Colombo's upscale Borella locality toward the stadium, the World Cup flags wrapped around the capital fluttered in the late afternoon breeze. They weren't just decorations; they were declarations. The event has gripped the city's consciousness. Tea stalls debated playing XIs. Hotel staff speculated about weather forecasts. Security presence subtly thickened.
Anura Gyanae, our Uber driver, has become an unofficial logistics analyst of subcontinental cricket fandom.
"I have been ferrying people who have come here for the match," he said, navigating the Colombo traffic with calm precision. "The Pakistan fans have been here for four days now. Waiting for the Indians to arrive. They are arriving in a few batches. I know India is a strong team."
At the team hotel entrances, green jerseys have been visible for days. Drums occasionally echo at Galle Face Green. Now, blue shirts are beginning to appear - at breakfast buffets, in currency exchange lines, at souvenir shops negotiating over flags.
Peter Ridge, who has flown in from Manchester, is playing the long game. "We did not manage to get tickets for India vs Pakistan. We are here to see the other matches in Colombo," he said with a shrug that barely masked the ambition. "We shall be on the ring side, hoping to find a few tickets on the go during the game."
The black market whispers are already growing louder.
For the Irish contingent in town, there's been a festival spirit. Emily Anderson, draped in green but smiling knowingly, captured the layered loyalties of global cricket.
"Irish cricket have been having fun with the Pakistan team. There is always a bit of fun and banter in cricket. We have been loving it," she said. Then, with a conspiratorial grin: "We are also turning up in green, but our support is for the blue."
That's the thing about India vs Pakistan - it pulls even the neutrals into choosing a side.
Edith Munroe from Glasgow had hoped to witness the theatre firsthand. "India vs Pakistan is the game everyone is talking about. There are no tickets. I believe there is a frenzy around that game," she said. "We shall have to leave and get back to India for a few of England's games. Sad to miss all the excitement. In the future, would definitely want to see the clash of the arch rivals."
Otter Fannington from Norwich had tickets once - a golden pass into the epicentre. "It is a pity that these two nations do not play more often," he said. "But look at the frenzy here. We had the tickets but let them go because of the uncertainty around the fixture. Now it is impossible to get. We have tried for the last 24 hours."
That regret may linger longer than the match itself.
Inside Premadasa during Ireland vs Australia, the noise never quite reached fever pitch. But every boundary was followed by side conversations drifting inevitably toward Sunday. Matchups dissected. Bowling combinations debated. Who handles pressure better? Who owns the big stage?
In the subcontinent, cricket is theatre. When India and Pakistan meet, it becomes opera.
Colombo understands that it is hosting more than a cricket match. It is hosting history, rivalry, politics, pride, diaspora, memory. It is hosting millions of television viewers who will compress into one venue, one afternoon, one narrative.
For now, the streets hum. Hotels fill. Flags wave. Security drills rehearse. Fans count down.
Temple Road will not be half full when the arch-rivals arrive. It will heave, throb. It will test the patience of traffic police and the lungs of supporters.
The real deal is coming. And Colombo is ready.
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team