It will be party time at Queens Park Oval
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Friday March 16, 12:42 PM
Port of Spain, March 16 (IANS) From the steel pans to the Mexican wave, the Trinidad capital is ready to roll into one serious partying zone as India
play their first match against Bangladesh Saturday at the Queens Park Oval.
''When Tendulkar goes out to bat, the reception is
going to be tremendous,'' says Satnarine Maharaj, an avid cricketer and lecturer in the University of the West Indies. ''For the
people the only thing bigger than Sachin is Lara,'' Maharaj added.
While Tendulkar is the all-time favourite, captain Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are the other crowd pullers.
There is going to be a full house at the Queens Park Oval, one can expect shake of calypso, with a tinge of the home-brew soca, a dance music derived from the calypso and ''chutney'', a Trinidad cocktail of Hindi or Bhojpuri songs stirred in the tunes of soca.
While the West Indies is the clear favourite among the fans here, Indians are the darlings of the crowd - that is expected to have a substantial segment of people of Indian origin - as the home team does not play in Trinidad.
Over 40 percent of the one million population of Trinidad and Tobago is of Indian origin.
''We always enjoy coming to Trinidad because we have always had good
support here. And since we are not playing the West Indies, we expect even more support in our matches,'' Dravid said upon arrival at Port of Spain.
''There are divided loyalties,'' points out Ravi Rambarram, a top executive in an insurance company and a fourth generation Trinidadian of Indian descent. ''My grandparents and parents will whole heartedly support the Indian team, if they play against the West Indies, while people of my generation are die-hard West Indies supporters,'' adds Rambarram.
The love for the game can be traced to the grassroots, where like any Indian neighbourhood, children can be seen playing cricket, making do with wooden sticks as makeshift wickets.
''There would be ''lime'', which is the local connotation of eating, drinking and making merry,'' says Maharaj, ''people, like in India, I am sure will be praying for India to win their matches in Trinidad.''
''I am going to see the matches and cheer for India,'' remarks Sharmaine, an executive with an airline.
India is in Group B of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda.
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