An hour after Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul had charmed their way past South Africa’s steel, the train back from Nottingham to London kept bursting into loud, happy and hopelessly tuneless renditions of ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’. For over three-and-a-half hours at Trent Bridge on Thursday evening, the DJ at the ground had belted out the 1987 Vital Signs number — he played it for every boundary Shahid Afridi struck and for every yorker Umar Gul bowled. And each time, the stadium exploded.

There were fears that India’s exit would rob the tournament of its most passionate fans. There were fears that England’s rain-affected departure would turn all attention in this country to the Ashes. On Thursday evening, the Pakistan team, and Pakistan’s fans, ensured that come Sunday, the tournament’s final day, all remotely cricket-infatuated eyes will be watching — waiting to see if one of cricket’s most dramatic tales has a happy ending or not.

Pakistan’s cricket is a throwback to more fascinating times. Their coach, Intikhab Alam, says he doesn’t give his players too much advice — just go out and enjoy. Their captain, Younis Khan, reacted to the first defeat by saying Twenty20 was like WWE wrestling — it was fun. If they do badly, this attitude gets ripped to shreds, understandable in a country as passionate about the game as India.

But when it does come off, well, aren’t they just beautiful to watch?

A 17-year-old left-arm fast bowler, Mohammad Aamer; running in hard, bowling at pace, swinging it in and cutting it away. There’s Younis Khan, always smiling, whether he’s getting grilled by the media or fast bowlers in opposing ranks. There’s an off-spinner, Saeed Ajmal, who reminds everyone of Saqlain Mushtaq and an ICL rebel, Abdul Razzaq, picked midway through the tournament as pre-tournament strategies went out of the window during the warm-ups.

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