Indian students were stars in friendly cricket against Victoria Police

The Indian students were the stars in a game against Victoria Police officers in a continuing campaign to promote harmony.The pitch was a footpath with a wicket that became a backyard batsman’s paradise. But for the half-dozen Indian students who hit their share of boundaries on Australia Day, it was still a great game of cricket.

The cricket match, held under sunny skies beside Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl, came amid controversy over racist attacks and the unsolved slaying of 21-year-old Nitin Garg which strained relations and had police members compared to the Ku Klux Klan by an Indian newspaper.

It was the second “harmony” game between Indian students and police but the first to be held on Australia Day – which was fittingly also Indian Republic Day for many of the participants.

“It’s a small step,” said Simon Overland, the state’s top cop who hasn’t played cricket in 30 years, after he sent down a gentle lob that was smashed over the fence for six.

Mr Overland said some attacks in the state were racist but there appeared to be no pattern to them.

“In some ways, the racism just risks missing the point, which is that it’s about the violence and the violence is clearly not OK regardless of who’s involved,” he said.

For Vishal Polineni, who moved to Australia from India a year ago to study engineering, the attacks have been blown out of proportion and Melbourne is a safe city.

After hitting his share of boundaries as a potential Man of the Match, he said he hadn’t experienced any violence in the city. While his friends in India tell him they’ve heard of problems, he tells them to ignore it.

“I’ve told them to come here, it’s a good country,” he said. “It’s not so bad as the media is making it out to be.”

Most of the Indians in Australia are against the media and some of them are saying the media is now making the situation worst.

Source: SMH Australia