The day was supposed to be a big day for Indian cricket. The world knew that Sachin was just 15 runs away from becoming the highest run getter in Tests. And moreover, the wait seemed to be over after India had won the toss and decided to bat. In short, the script was ready for the event to unfold. But what we got to see was shocking, to say the least. The crowd for the D-day was so sparse that it was unbelievable.
The mere definition of cricket in India cannot be separated from the man we call 'Master blaster'. The man who had carried the hopes of the entire nation for the past 18 years was on the verge of the greatest milestone of his career. In return, what did he get? He certainly deserved more than an empty and echoing PCA stadium, Mohali. This humiliating act by the people of Mohali needs to be condemned. It is difficult for me to convey the emotions that I went through while watching this act unfold. It was more than an eyesore for me.
This leads us to a serious issue regarding the allotting of matches to Test venues. Having excellent infrastructure and facilities would lead to nothing if you don't have the crowd to cheer the players on. Stadium facilities should not be the sole criterion for allotting matches. The BCCI should take this matter seriously and look into its 'rotation policy'. Why should the players be forced to play in front of empty stadiums when you have other options? Clearly, venues like the Eden Gardens and Chepauk have been neglected. Series as important as the Ind-Aus needs supporting venues like these. How else would you get the essential ingredient for a good Test match: atmosphere?
Crowds are an integral part of any cricket match. In fact, they are the soul of epic battles. Imagine Ashes 2005 or Eden 2001 minus the crowd. There is a unique charm is watching matches in front of huge crowds, even when following a match on TV. The greatest cricketing battles are fought in jam-packed stadiums, not in front of bare concrete structures.
Maybe the BCCI should invest as many millions into their test cricket as those private investors have put into the IPL. Anyway, I was also suprised at the lack of crowd, which was far surpassed by the aussie crowds in their previous series. Surely, it must be the lack of "success" of India in test cricket. Since their World Cup wins in ODI & 20/20, these forms have flourished.
By the way, surely only one man/cricketer can be called "Master Blaster"? "little Master" is fine though, and very well deserved.
Posted by: Anjo at October 20, 2008 1:04 AM
Shame on you Soumya Kanti Bera for using such strong language to condemn people who decided to go to work on a weekday than attend a cricket match. "Forced to play in empty stands" oh the horror! If empty cricket stands create such deep emotional stress I recommend a visit to the psychiatrist.
Gee some people are just never satisfied and have to find something to complain about. The crowd built up as the day progressed, Mohali is probably the best ground in the country and Tendulkar broke a world record, but you managed to find something to moan about. The people who did make it to the cricket ground saw an excellent innings, even if some missed *that* moment.
Posted by: Mahesh at October 20, 2008 7:27 AM
One can't blame Mohali completely. The painful drag of Tendulkar towards this record, and the dull and over cautious batting of the Indian middle order (as in the last day of the previous test), in the recent tests is also contributing to people to keeping away from the tests.
Posted by: Vijay at October 20, 2008 1:00 PM
Are you for real? You are condeming the Mohali people because they didn't attend a cricket match! Mate, in case you haven't noticed we are going through a global financial crisis. There are millions of people starving in India and the last thing they are thinking of is attending a cricket match. I think one needs to get off their impearialistic high horse!
Posted by: Pratyush Pushkar at October 20, 2008 2:08 PM
It is surely surprising as this is the most spectator friendly ground in India as well, I have watched Tests at Kolkata, which is a horror as far as facilities go, and I dont buy the theory of workdays as If we have a 20/20 match at the same time , it would have been full .. Add to it two of the best teams playing, BCCI needs to carefully allot centres, Kolkata , Chennai must have been 2 of the venues. It is quite embarrassing to be honest.
Posted by: Ravi at October 20, 2008 3:21 PM
Sachin Tendulkar has been the sole reason limited over cricket flourished in India. Its amazing that Tendulkar's record feat is not well appreciated and is maligned upon. Cautious batting? Did we expect some firework displays. Please have a fifth day pitch for a IPL T20 and check on the results. Australia scored around 250 on first day, and expected India to score 298 on final day? Tendulkar S/R scoring 88 runs was second best to Sehwag's brief innings and better than Dhoni's which seemed exuberant by the power hitting.
Posted by: Andy maina at October 20, 2008 6:53 PM
Perhaps what they need to do is to make the experience of watching Test cricket worth the while for the common man on the street. Getting harassed by over zealous security guards, punished with bizarre security restrictions and then being sat in the hot sun on plastic chairs with no hope for food or beverages is no way to witness an event such as what Sachin Tendulkar just did. The IPL struck upon something by actually trying to make the crowds comfortable and if the BCCI followed that lead more people would be happy to go watch India's test team.
Posted by: Deepak at October 21, 2008 10:21 AM
Soumya Kanti Bera: Wake up dude...watching cricket matches on a weekday in the stadium happens only if u dont need to work or have a laidback workculture or if ur a student willing to sneak out...people have greater priorities than going to stadiums..like earning their livelihood..were you at the stadium btw? i very much dobt it...i am a die-hard cricket fan but prefer it on TV simply bcoz i can watch replays and angles with the expert commentary. Doing my work at office and tracking the score in Cricinfo's live commentary -BEST OF BOTH WORLDS...me being not there does not mean i dont appreciate the game..
Posted by: Mahesh at October 22, 2008 5:51 AM
Ravi,
Not fireworks but at least a spirited chase, that is what makes a 5 day affair interesting. There was no strategy to chase, and the Indian middle order was determined to just play out; this was very visible and what Ponting called a "old school of test match cricket".
i can see from your passionate descriptions that you are a die-hard fan of Sachin, and I can understand that only to such fans such "accumulative" records are a never-miss occasions.
Honestly, The general public which relishes the team's achievements more or which relishes the game itself find more spectacular records like 300 in a day, 6 sixes in an over, Sehwag-Gambhir taking on Mendis etc., as a true never-miss event.
Posted by: Tushar at October 23, 2008 12:38 PM
What are you going to complain about next? Aussies not giving tough fight to make the game nail-biter and hence more memorable for Sachin? Or Mishra getting a 5-for and Ganguly getting a hundred and getting some attention? Ganguly, Gambhir and Dhoni should have thrown the wickets the moment they reached 87 so that Sachin would have had top score in the game...? Or should India have declared and match abandoned the moment Sachin got the record? get a life
Posted by: Vijay Padmanabhan at October 24, 2008 5:19 PM
I absolutely support your article. It was really embarrassing to watch Sachin go past Lara without a crowd or barely an ant to watch. It is equally surprising that tests in India are always full no matter who the opposition is and that brings us to the question as what really happened in Mohali? Is it really the T20 mania or is it something else?
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