James Astill

A long anticipated battle erupted on the subcontinent on 13 March, with Pakistan hurling missiles at India’s men. India, the regional superpower, responded in fury, scattering the Pakistani attack, returning fire with its own biggest guns.

For nine hours, the battle raged. Across the subcontinent, shops were shuttered and streets deserted, as more than a billion people waited to know the outcome. In the end the brutality of India’s initial repulse had told.

The antagonism between the two nuclear rivals is not yet over. But, after an astounding, record-breaking game of cricket in Karachi on 13 March, the opening day of India’s first full tour of Pakistan in nearly 15 years, the signs look better than at perhaps any time in nearly four decades.

There were no casualties. There was none of the mob violence or murder that have haunted previous encounters. Instead there was something new: Pakistani fans draped in the Indian flag; Indian fans celebrating among them, in the heartland of Pakistani extremism.

‘I’ve never seen an India-Pakistan game with an atmosphere like this. There’s such a feeling of friendship,’ marvelled Imran Khan, Pakistan’s greatest all-rounder and now a member of parliament. ‘It’s as if we’re saying, “War is no longer an option — we need something new”. I sensed that this series would be different, but I never expected it could be like this.’

In 1997, when India last played in the city, it was stoned by a mob. Little more than a year ago, India and Pakistan risked a nuclear war, as their armies faced off in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Then, in November, they agreed to stop shelling each other. In January, Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and India’s Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, agreed to hold peace talks.

Given the history of Indo-Pakistani cricketing rivalry, Khan’s words might invite scepticism, were it not that everyone at the stadium seemed to share them. ‘In the raucous heart of the crowd sat Saif Malik, a 16-year-old Pakistani, wearing an Indian cricket shirt. During previous Indo-Pakistani cricket series, people have been lynched for less.

‘I’m supporting India because I want to be a little different and because Sachin Tendulkar is my hero,’ said Saif, speaking of India’s star batsman.

By the stadium’s concrete pavilion sat 200 Indian fans, the advance guard of around 10,000 Indians expected to visit Pakistan during their team’s five-week tour. ‘Cricket is secondary for us and peace is first,’ said Vijay Shah, from Nagpur.

Amid the clamour, Sunil Lalahandani, from Bombay, was amazed to find men and women sitting together in Islamic Pakistan. ‘It’s really very like India: I’ve even seen women smoking,’ he said. ‘Very pretty women, with wonderful grace.’

Indian fans travelled to Karachi under armed guard, and had been advised not to venture from their hotels, but Sunil ignored the advice.

The scenes on the pitch were just as extraordinary.

India scored 349, its highest one-day total, yet Pakistan fell short by a mere five runs, another record.

But the moment of the day involved Priyanka Gandhi. In 1971, Priyanka’s grandmother, Indira Gandhi, prosecuted a devastating tank battle for Karachi, during the third Indo-Pakistan war. But when Priyanka stepped out of the pavilion to greet the small Indian contingent, the entire crowd rose to applaud her. ‘This is a historic match, a wonderful day, a wonderful game of cricket,’ said Priyanka, a bit breathlessly. ‘I am so happy to be here.’ — The Guardian, London