Visuals emerged from Varanasi this morning of priests conducting a puja in the presence of an Indian flag and some cricket gear – one of the many tell-tale signs that an India-Pakistan match is imminent.
Another is the cliches that prevail – greatest sporting rivalry, arch rivals, battle of the neighbours, bleed blue, bleed green, clash of the titans, battle royale, among others.
India-Pakistan matches are a rarity these days because of political tension, so the fans' excitement was in overdrive on Saturday ahead of the evening match in Dhaka, Bangladesh as part of the Asia Cup Twenty 20 tournament. two teams will be playing each other for the first time since India emerged victorious in a World Cup match nearly a year ago.
On social media, the serious discussions about nationalism and patriotism that have dominated the discourse for the past fortnight were set aside for a day. After all, everything stops when India plays Pakistan.
With the game only scheduled to start late evening, restless fans spent the day channeling their excitement into humour. The memes were in full flow in the build-up to the game. Here's a round-up of the best:
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