An India-Pakistan match anywhere in the world is a special occasion, and their eighth meeting in an ICC event — with six wins and one defeat for the Men in Blue — at the SuperSport Park in Centurion was no exception.

Despite the 2.30 pm start, the stands began filling up well before noon and the ICC announced on Friday itself that the match was a sold out one. It will quite possibly be one of just two or three, depending on how far India are able to extend their run here. At the Champions Trophy (2004) in England, they were on a flight home after the first round itself. As would have been evident in pictures beamed from the SuperSport Park, the stadium has more grassy banks than formal seating, and on Saturday, under powder-blue skies flecked with fleecy clouds — an ideal spring day — the tri-colour was dominant, healthily outnumbering the green and crescent of Pakistan.

Towards the end of the match though, it was almost even-stevens as decibel levels — fuelled by gallons of beer and other, more potent spirits that flowed freely — touched deafening heights. South African journalists, unused to the tidal waves of sound that are an essential part of these games could only look on in amazement.

The event technical committee of the ICC Champions Trophy 2009 has approved changes in the Australia and New Zealand squads for the tournament with Doug Bollinger coming in for Nathan Bracken in the Australia side and James Franklin flying in to replace Jacob Oram for New Zealand.

Bracken was forced out of the squad with a right knee injury while Oram has sustained a strain to his left hamstring.

— Rahul Banerji