Chances are that even if you were not particularly concerned about India’s campaign in the Nehru Cup, an alert would have come your way Monday night. The football title is being decided on a penalty shootout, India have taken a lead, get yourself to a television screen before it is all over. And if you did — you who are a sport snob, tuning in for Manchester United v Arsenal, but not among those who thrill at the prospect of India playing Syria — you must have surprised yourself.

Monday night was high drama. Once Ahmad Muhmad had missed his penalty to allow India a 2-1 lead, and more acutely after the shootout went into sudden death, how could it be any other way? But the drama came not just from the structure of the contest. It came, cinematically “Chak De! India” style, from the atmosphere of the stadium. The stadium was so packed beyond capacity and the thousands of spectators charged to a point where their cheer gained a hysterical edge, that the celebrations begun with Subrata Paul’s successful defence of Syria’s seventh penalty kick had a sense of release coursing from the stadium to those watching in the isolation of their homes.

This is not meant to take any credit away from the 22 men who played a good game of football at Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium. It is, instead, to summon to the podium the thousands of spectators who showed that drama enhances sport, and that it can do so in a way that accentuates the nobility of the contest.

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