Patna, March 24: When India and Australia clash on 22 yards, and that too in a World Cup quarterfinal, life stops, almost. Cricket fans sway between optimism and despair faster than David Hussey runs between the wickets.

The countdown for this match continued for four years. When the coin spun at Motera, the roads were deserted. The match of the Cup was ready to take off.

Arvind Kumar, a private bank employee, stopped at a mobile phone shop on Frazer Road to catch a glimpse of the score on his way back to office after lunch. Today, customers could wait.

With a huge LCD television beaming the do-or-die match between India and the defending champions Australia, he could not resist peeping.

“It is good that Australia is batting first. By the time India don their pads, I will be home. I can then watch it with a drink,” he said.

Selfish? Never mind, it’s the match of the Cup.

A keen cricket enthusiast, Arvind said: “Though wickets are falling at regular intervals, Ponting is the danger man. I still remember his knock against India in 2003.”

Right he was. Ricky Ponting rose to the occasion and scored a superb century.

People stopped at shops where the TV was on. They cheered at every wicket that came India’s way or even a close miss.

Strangers turned friends in matter of balls. Cheers, it’s the match of the Cup.

Saket Priyan, a student, suddenly stopped his motorcycle on the SP Verma Road in front of an electronic shop. He parked his vehicle and started to watch the match.

Time waste? No way! It’s the match of the Cup.

Along with Saket were around 15 people. They, too, peeped through the glass trying to catch a glimpse of each ball.

“The good thing is that the wickets are falling at regular intervals. The bad thing is that the Aussie captain is confident and controlled. He has to be dismissed, anyhow. He is one man who can take the game away from India, single-handedly. He should be attacked from all sides. India should have played Sreesanth. He is aggressive and can bring the Australians to their knees with his antics,” Priyan said.

Pallav Kumar, the man standing next to him, gave Priyan a stare and said: “How can you play Sreesanth? He is not experienced and is out of form. The bowling attack is fine. We have Zaheer at least. Ponting should be put into some pressure. He shouldn’t be allowed to play freely.”

At the Ashok Rajpath area, some people looked a bit angry after India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni lost the toss.

“We hoped India would bat first. In the evening, power can play spoilsport and we might miss the match. We want Sachin to score his 100th century. Hope we can watch the match and there’s no power cut,” Mohammed Aleem, a businessman, said.

To this, Ravindra Kumar, who was also watching the match at an eatery, said: “We all want Sachin to score a hundred. But India has lost most of the matches in which the Master Blaster scored a ton. To me, the Cup is more important than his knock. May he score a century and drive India to a historic win.”

The Master gave a steady start to India. But he missed out on the ton.

Who cares as long as India wins. It’s the match of the Cup.

India did win. Australia lost. But what a match!