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August 26, 2008
The party never stops
Posted by Jamie Alter on 08/26/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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Sanath Jayasuriya and Harbhajan Singh catch up as it continues to pour
© AFP
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Never mind it had been raining before the toss, the covers had been on for hours, and that there was hardly any chance that play would happen. The Sri Lankan spectators in the stands at the Premadasa were here to have a good time.
Running an inventory of the cricket grounds across the globe I've been too, it was hard to rival the interactivity of the fans at the Premadasa. This wasn't up there in the pantheon of pre-game rituals - Liverpool fans singing their anthem in a match against Chelsea – or fan-to-fan banter – a Red Sox v Yankees game at Fenway Park – but in cricketing isolation it was something else, because not a ball was bowled. I imagine it can only be bettered in the Caribbean.
I've seen spectators in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and London leave when it rains. Fans are a part of any game, and the passionate ones at the Premadasa took plenty of attention off the lack of cricket. In a fantastic conglomeration of hip twists, knee jerks, claps and elbow shaking, the entire Premadasa came to life.
Continue reading "The party never stops"
August 21, 2008
The buff masters
Posted by Jamie Alter on 08/21/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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When you're from India, 'Do you know Shah Rukh Khan?' features prominently on the most-asked-question list
© AFP
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Hindi films share pretty much equal space in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and you won't have a hard time striking up a conversation about them. Whereas the language (Hindi or Urdu) is the common denominator in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh (to a lesser extent, though some people will understand you a little), in Sri Lanka it is impossible to strike up a conversation in that form. If you speak Tamil it's not that difficult, but there is not a trace of Hindi spoken anywhere.
Hindi films aren't as popular in Sri Lanka as in the rest of the subcontinent, but they are shown in select theatres. Wasantha, who works at a barbershop, said the fashionable clothes, beautiful leading men and women and catchy music are among the reasons he and his friends watch the odd Hindi film, even though they don't understand what is happening on screen.
Continue reading "The buff masters"
August 7, 2008
The travelling soldier
Posted by Jamie Alter on 08/07/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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Some people like to go to resorts, others hiking, many more to the beaches, but for Abhishek Sudhir there's no better vacation than following India
© Cricinfo Ltd
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Abhishek Sudhir was born in 1986, the year India won a Test series in England. Twenty-one years later, when they broke a drought with a draw at The Oval, thereby securing a memorable 1-0 series win, Abhishek was there, and savoured the moment.
It was his first Test outside Bangalore.
"It wasn't cheap," he says, "but it was definitely worth it ... a good way to start. I had always dreamed of watching a series in England."
Abhishek has been watching live cricket since 1992, from the time Vinod Kambli 'brownwashed' England. That's when he caught the bug and it's been a passionate last 17 years, but one moment started a memorable journey.
After watching Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sreesanth salvage a draw in the first Test between India and England at Lord's last summer, on television with his father in Bangalore, Abhishek decided he had to go back to England for the rest of the series. The next morning he walked straight into the airlines office and bought himself a ticket back to London, cutting short his vacation in India by two-and-a-half months.
"My mom was disappointed about that, but she understood that I just needed to do that," he says. He landed in Birmingham a couple days later and hopped onto a train to Trent Bridge and didn't miss a ball of that gripping Test.
Continue reading "The travelling soldier"
August 5, 2008
A Sri Lankan institution
Posted by Jamie Alter on 08/05/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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A bird’s-eye view of the P Saravanamuttu Stadium
© Cricinfo Ltd.
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As I stepped into the P Saravanamuttu Stadium (PSS), nested along a discreet road by the name of Lesley Ranagala Mawatha ('avenue' in Sinhala) in Colombo, it was just as I had read and heard it to be. After the impressive SSC, home to Sri Lanka Cricket, and the Galle Stadium, which is open all around with virtually no raised structures barring the pavilion, allowing passers-by to take in the cricket, the PSS was small and unobtrusive. Its setting is akin to something of a club venue, with low stands and grassy banks, and the ivy-covered scoreboard.
The media had yet to descend on the venue, being an optional day for the players to have nets. I had planned to meet Kumar Sangakkara here, but he hadn't arrived and so I walked around the stadium to bide my time.
What first caught my attention were the massive honours' boards, listing cricket and hockey players to have been produced here. The PSS is host to the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club, inaugurated in 1899 and which has produced a superstar by the name of Muttiah Muralitharan. The ground used to be called the Colombo Oval but was changed to its current name, after Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the Tamil Union's president from 1958-50 and chairman of committees from 1935-50.
Continue reading "A Sri Lankan institution "
July 31, 2008
Getting out of jail
Posted by Jamie Alter on 07/31/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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The inmates of Boosa prison get to work
© Cricinfo Ltd
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They caught my attention during the first session, occupying a majority of the roofed section near midwicket at the Galle International Stadium which seats a few hundred spectators. From afar, in white t-shirts and khakhi shorts, they looked like a group of oversized school students cheering heartily as Virender Sehwag laced the ball across the turf their way. On closer inspection it was evident that they weren't students. For a second I thought they could be off-duty cadets. The dress-code was common to those seen around various cantonments on the subcontinent.
But when a brief but fierce shower lashed the stadium during the lunch interval, they all jumped up in unison and grabbed the covers. This surprised me, as I had seen the Galle ground staff (white UltraTech Ceylinco-branded white tees and black pants) in action the day before this Test. I then learned that they were inmates from the nearby high-security Boosa prison.
More than 125 prisoners running across the ground covering the square at a live cricket match? With spectators and players present? I was taken back and so sought out head curator Jayananda Warnaweera. "They have special security guards to monitor their every move, so it is nothing to worry about," he told me. "These are inmates guilty of petty crimes, nothing too serious. We see it as benefiting us and them."
Continue reading "Getting out of jail"
July 20, 2008
The familiar figure donning the white coat
Posted by Jamie Alter on 07/20/2008 in India in Sri Lanka 2008
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Howzat: Kumar Dharmasena is now an umpire
© Photosport
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With a heavy shower having delayed the resumption of play after lunch at the Nondescripts Cricket Club, I took the opportunity to walk across the soggy grass outside the boundary line. Percy Abeysekera, the famous fanatical Sri Lankan supporter, has engaged a few India players and some local and visiting fans with his jokes and antics – he waves his hands exaggeratedly, slaps hands, and even breaks into a cooing sound as Sachin Tendulkar comes out on the players' balcony.
But I pass on and make my way towards a man sitting silently against a white wall in the shade 50 meters away, head bent forward, arms resting on knees, far away from the madness. It is Kumar Dharmasena, the former Sri Lankan offspinner, now an umpire. He cuts a calm picture, crisp white shirt and black pants and tennis shoes, and extends a firm handshake.
Continue reading "The familiar figure donning the white coat"
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