IT SEEMS THAT every second advertisement on television in Pakistan these days - in the middle of an Indo-Pak cricket series - features a home cricketer pushing the virtues of one product or another, from shaving cream and toothpaste to soft drinks and cars.
Try telling a Pakistani cricket fan how unlikely it would be that the burly Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (described by one TV commentator as a 'battleship') would drape his massive form over a delicate-looking 100cc motorbike. The sales of the two-wheeler can be comfortably expected to soar during the series.
Nowhere in the world is cricket watched and followed with the kind of passion as in the subcontinent.
Test and one-day international matches between the two neighbours have been few and far between, with political tensions hijacking any sporting diplomacy attempted.
Still, following the dawn of a new amity, there have been more mutual exchanges and the on-field tussles have not remained the tension-soaked, do-or-die battles they once were, when defeat was simply unimaginable to either side.
Amazingly, when India toured Pakistan after a long interval last year, and won both the test and one-day international series, there was no call for the head of the captain or large-scale changes in the composition of the team. The setbacks were accepted as part of the cyclical ups and downs that sporting encounters between countries go through.
The wisdom of that approach has been apparent in the current cricket series in India. A young and inexperienced Pakistani team, which was virtually written off before it left for India, has shown rare verve and spirit, ending the opening test at Mohali with honours even after having been at the receiving end for the first four days of the five-day game.