The glare of the floodlights is jarring, and the roaring crowd gets louder and louder. As you get closer, you suddenly know why: Sultan Warriors have lost another wicket.

It’s the second edition of the Royal Premiere League, and in Pulwama, some roads are still closed at night while others are only dimly lit. Yet crowds of cricket enthusiasts continue to pour into the Valley, heedless of the darkness.

For two weeks, 10 teams will compete for the top spot in the league, which has drawn players from all over J&K this year.

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For the Valley, this year is special: it comes months after the Jammu & Kashmir cricket team shocked the nation by winning their first-ever Ranji Trophy title, defeating powerhouse Karnataka. And although the Pulwama stadium has only a small pavilion with no fixed official seating, it is bursting at the seams.

Policemen and volunteers walked the perimeter while spectators poured onto the field. No space that offered any view of the ground — from adjoining buildings, staircases and poles — was left unattended, and, in the match between Royal Goodwill and Sultan Warriors, even the lack of commentary was no deterrent, as crowds made a ball-by-ball review among themselves.

The match began at 8 pm, and people were still walking in at 10 pm.

In the crowd, a young man from Ganderbal, Haseeb, hitched a ride with three other friends to see the match. “My family thinks I’m visiting a cousin. I heard about a night match from friends and decided to come and see it. I don’t think I’d get another chance like this,” he says. His only worry was that they had lost the friend who was supposed to drive them back. “It’s still the first innings, though. I’ll find him.”

A major attraction of the tournament is that there is no ticket – a significant reason for the rush. Outside the stadium, hundreds of two-wheelers were parked along the main road. While women spectators were few and far between, young men from Pulwama poured in by the thousands to support their local clubs.

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The match began at 8 pm, and people were still walking in at 10 pm. The food stalls remained packed, and security officials continued to keep vigil. At the end of the night, Royal Goodwill players secured a 50-run win over their opponents.

To one of J&K’s most militancy-affected areas in South Kashmir for decades– including the February 2019 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed – the tournament brings a welcome relief. “Pulwama has always been in the news for the wrong reason,” League organiser Irfan Sarkar tells . “I wanted to give the people here something to cheer for.”

His family is associated with the fruit business, a staple in South Kashmir, and he began his journey into sports by establishing a local cricket club. “I got immense support from the youth here. There are lots of great players, and there’s a passion for sports,” Sarkar adds, also acknowledging the support from Pulwama MLA Waheed Para in conducting the league.

Para is the crowd to cheer for the teams. “It is an attempt to bring some light, happiness and hope to young people who are hurting and aggrieved, giving them a space to come together, celebrate and simply enjoy the game,” he says.

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The match may have ended, but the enthusiasm for the game did not dissipate, and many were ready to return for the next match. For then, holding any sporting activity in Pulwama comes as a pleasant surprise. “Many of them are not professionally trained. They’ve grown up playing in the fields post-harvest, but there is enough love for the game to come see them, and encourage them by any means possible,” says Abdul Rashid, a retired teacher, walking into the stadium at 10 pm. “Our young men have so little to look forward to.”