Spectators sitting all around the road. Fielders standing prepared. Batsman slowing walks towards the striker’s end, takes guard. As he looks up the bowler start running from the Ghaffar kabab house end. Fielders start coming in, the crowd starts cheering, as the bowler is about to release the ball a rickshaw carrying a family of 4 drives through the middle of the pitch. Traffic stops play!
We are only a few days away from Ramzan, so what exactly excites youngsters about Ramzan along with tasty samosas, sweet jalebis, delicious khajla pheni and refreshing Rooh Afza? It is NIGHT CRICKET.
Unplanned cricket matches pop up on almost all streets of Karachi as soon as Taraveeh ends. The roads become pitches and all the enthusiastic players have to bear Karachi’s notorious traffic. Not only bikes but cars, rickshaws and at times even a donkey cart will interrupt the play.
The city that was once known for all kinds of violence and target killings has now come alive with the sounds of players shouting during street matches, the hollow tock of leather on willow, the thap thap of batsmen’s rubber flip flops as they run to score more, overexcited applause and cheers of spectators.
The teams before starting the play decide about the boundary and with mutual agreement that red rusty car parked at the far end of road gets to become the boundary.
The rules are adapted for the street. If the ball is caught after it hits one of the electricity cables that zigzag overhead, the batsman is not out. If it goes over a fence that counts as two runs, under a car is one run and if the ball lands on a roof, the point is replayed.
Tube lights joined to metal coat holders and threw overpower links give the lighting. The wicket is made of two stacked PepsiCo cartons and the young men utilize blocks to chalk out the wrinkles at each finish of the pitch.
