I'm definitely not a fan of Cricket. Being born in a country where Cricket is more of a religion than just a sport, I'm blatantly out of place, but when its a matter of country pride, I can't step back.
Yesterday was one of those days when I let my heart rule. I found myself sitting at among the highest seats of the Hyderabad International Cricket Stadium from where the view was like those 360 panoramas that we see of stadiums, watching the 5th ODI of the India Vs Australia Series. All this was thanks to Raj Kiran who kindly managed to arrange for the tickets.
While the 'inside' of the stadium was all fun, getting there was a mega-task. My friends parked their vehicles at my home because of the proximity to the stadium and their intention to avoid that huge traffic build up on the Tarnaka-Uppal road. We had to walk down the 1.5 KM distance to the stadium and find our seats. Sounded simple. But it wasn't. After walking all the way towards the Eastern side of it, we were told Gate 9 is on the other side. So we walked the half the perimeter around and only landed at Gate 7. When we asked again, we were told to go 'round a hill' to find 9. Round a Hill! I knew this place well because at the time the stadium wasn't yet so popular I used to learn to drive my car in these roads. And they weren't exactly what one would call roads. This was the back end of a colony in Habsiguda which ended at the foot of a rocky hill. Walking up and down these roads is more like a mini-trek. Cursing every stone and bush we came across and trying to think only of the fun we would have at the end of this long walk, we went 'trekking'. Finally, after doing nearly 3/4th perimeter (We could have done 1/4th and landed at the same point if we knew where to go!!!) we came around the hill and landed at Gate 9.
Once in, everything changed. We forgot all that we went through and get absorbed into the match. The Aussie batsmen were having a Run Fest down there and every ball seemed to be landing in the audience. The crowd was very participative and very patriotic but appreciative too. When Marsh completed his century, there was a good resounding applause for his effort. The runs just seemed to flow effortlessly. I was told this pitch is a very high scoring pitch and the rate at which the Aussie batsmen were scoring, it was getting obvious. Go down, buy a drink and 30-40 runs are added. The bowlers seemed incapable of taking wickets and we just watched silently occasionally clapping for this and that. Soon the scoreline read Aus: 350 runs. A decade back 350 was impossible to score. Now a lot more than that is possible.
We hunted for some food during the break. And I hunted for a camera which I obviously didn't have. The sunset behind the stadium looked awesome and I desperately wanted to click a snap. I had only my MotoRazr V3i in my hand with a 1.3MP camera with what I call 'beginner's' options. None of it helped me in any way so I just succumbed to the situation and clicked a few. I also managed a 3-photo Panorama with Natarajan's HTC touch (the image at the start). These were what I could click.
After the break, the Indian batsmen descended and now we realised the potential of the crowd. They were screaming themselves hoarse. Especially for Sachin Tendulkar. After scoring 7, he completed his career's 17,000 runs for which the fans erupted. It felt like the stadium shook during that 'eruption'. Little did they know that he had much much more in store for them. Sehwag's inital blast took the light away from Sachin but it came back after wickets just kept tumbling. In fact, the only one who was keeping his cool was Sachin. After Raina came things settled down a bit and the pressure eased. The 351 target suddenly seemed gettable. Very gettable. Sachin was just giving treat after treat with his flawless and super-cool, timed shots. He crossed 50. Fans went mad. He crossed 100, madder. He reached 150. The stadium was shaking now. If he went on at this pace, 200 was achievable. Where did he get all that energy from? No answer. He was so ultra-cool that sometimes if he was caught outside the line he never made an attempt to get back in a hurry. It was as if he knew the fielder wouldn't be able to hit the wickets. He ran patiently all through the game, saving energy with every step, walking where he could, jogging mostly, but avoiding to run.
Suddenly at 175 he fell. For a few seconds the crowd couldn't take it. We all expected him to play 'Start to Finish' and win the match for us. Nonetheless there was a long, tremendous applause as he slowly left the field advising the next batsman on the way. After Sachin left, hope started to ebb, and the wickets started falling faster than the runs scored. All the last wickets fell in just 15 runs and that closed the game with India just 4 runs short. The crowd just fell silent unable to accept what just happened.
The Jinx of Hyderabad still lives on. India hasn't been able to win at this new stadium ever since it replaced LB stadium. And the jinx moves to even club level with Deccan Chargers having a horrid time at this ground. I myself watched a game here that DC lost badly. I could hear funny comments about breaking down this stadium and building a new one! What beliefs! What Superstitions! I don't believe in all that, so I chose to remain silent just ruing about how badly the tailenders failed to make those 15 odd runs. But I did enjoy the match because there were so many good shots, so many sixes and fours, lots of entertainment. The game had everything in it except the home team winning.
Once out of the stadium, it was that long walk back home and this time thankfully, I knew the shortest route out with no confusion. These guys wanted to spend more time outside but it was getting too late and we decided to call it a day.
And with that, the long day-night ended. It was already the next day by the time I fell asleep...
No comments:
Post a Comment