For the last week, my daily routine on a non-match day has been to get up, attend various practice sessions and press conferences scheduled through the day and then come back to the hotel room to file stories, after which it’s too late to do anything but watch the Euro 2008. On a match day, a late brunch left me just enough time to get ready and head to the ground to find a good seat in what is a spacious and comfortable press box. Therefore, the only bit of Dhaka I’d seen was the stretch of road between my hotel, the Shere Bangla Stadium and the team hotel.
Today, however, was different. The final didn’t require a reserve day so I had some time to loaf around the city and, after a late morning, head off in the opposite direction from the stadium. There are four modes of public transport – buses, cabs, auto-rickshaws (aka CNG) and cycle rickshaws, whose peddlers have no regard for which side of the road they are riding on, or where they are crossing. Their attitude seems to be, “you hit me and my family will come after you.” There is a fifth mode of transport too, an intermediate form or motorised cycle-rickshaw which is covered like an auto and it was one such contraption that we, another journalist and I, got into.
Continue reading "A Dhaka state of mind"
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Manpreet Gony: snapping catches off his own bowling
© Cricinfo Ltd.
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A day after a comprehensive victory over Pakistan on Tuesday, the majority of the Indian team chose to relax at the team hotel. Only six squad members – Yusuf Pathan, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ohja and Manpreet Gony – turned up at the Shere Bangla Stadium along with the support staff.
Uthappa, who was benched against Pakistan, and Yusuf, who made just 3 on debut, batted for a considerable time in the nets. Towards the end of Yusuf’s stint, Prasad set an imaginary field and laid down the equation: ten runs off eight balls. Yusuf pushed the first towards the off side, missed the second from Ishant and played the third back towards Gony. He failed to connect with a few more and it came down to eight off two balls.
Yusuf then drove Robin Singh hard towards cover. Prasad, the stand-in umpire, shouted four but reduced it to two after Robin protested. With six needed off one ball, Yusuf struck Ishant flat and hard towards cover but with no elevation to clear the boundary.
Over at another net, Gony practiced catching off his own bowling. He would run in and deliver a ball towards Prasad, who had a bat and another ball in his hand. He would let Gony’s deliveries go through to mental conditioner Paddy Upton, who was keeping wicket with a baseball mitt.
The moment the ball passed Prasad, he would hit the one in his hand towards Gony, who’d attempt to take the catch. He took several sharp ones during the session but then again he was expecting every ball to come back at him. The key will be to carry that expectation into every delivery he bowls in a match.
After the bowlers had also had their batting practice, Upton put on pads, gloves and grabbed a bat. However, instead of heading into the net he jogged out of the gate and returned dressed as a riot policeman. He was wearing a thick protective jacket - I’m not sure whether it was bulletproof - and a motorcycle crash helmet. Now unafraid of bodily injury, and to the amusement of several watchers, Upton played three deliveries off the middle of his bat.
One person wasn’t amused though. The security guard, presumably whose jacket Upton had borrowed, was urging the cameramen not to shoot - he feared he would get into trouble for lending his jacket for such a purpose.
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After featuring in the Indian Premier League, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys get back to the 50-over format
© AFP
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The Indian team landed in Dhaka early this morning and were greeted by dark skies and the omnipresent chance of rain. Not that it made a difference, as their practice session was at the indoor facility at the Shere Bangla National Stadium (SBNS).
They were scheduled to leave the hotel at 2.00 pm and with the start of the tournament opener between Pakistan and Bangladesh being delayed due to intermittent showers, some of the journalists trekked along the outer circumference of the stadium to watch them practice.
The indoor facility had three practice pitches, with a surface that resembled a hard court used for tennis. The area was as wide as a tennis court, but longer, and into this space trooped 14 squad members plus the support staff while we watched from a viewing area on the first floor – too many journalists and cameramen in too little space.
The players warmed up with short runs along the length of the pitches before disbanding into three groups. One bunch did reflex catching along with Gary Kirsten in one net. Robin Singh conducted pick and throw sessions in another, while Venkatesh Prasad and Paddy Upton tested both catching and direct-hit skills in the third. After the players had done a bit of each, Kirsten indicated it was time to pad up. “Let’s get into 50-over batting mode boys,” he called.
While the Indians practised inside, fans streamed into the SBNS with the weather beginning to clear and we could gauge what was going on as frequent roars accompanied the removal of a cover. The loudest cheer came at around 4.30 pm, an indication that Bangladesh had won the toss.
It was time to head back and we walked to the media centre unhindered through the inside of the ground, keeping just outside the boundary rope, something inconceivable in Indian stadiums with an international match about to get underway in less than 20 minutes.
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The drainage at the Shere Bangla National Stadium will be vital in ensuring the tournament can progress smoothly despite the high chances of rain
© Getty Images
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The pilot’s announcement that we would be landing in Dhaka shortly woke me up. Peering out of the window to catch an aerial view of the city, the element that dominated the landscape was water. The skies were grey and heavy and the numerous water-logged areas were impossible to miss.
It was raining when we stepped out of the plane. There had been regular showers over the last week and a weather website says “chance of precipitation is 100%” for three of the next five days, while it’s above 50% for the other two. Unlike New Delhi, where unseasonal rains have eased a scorching summer, the weather in Dhaka should surprise no one: it’s the beginning of the monsoon and one wonders why a cricket tournament was scheduled at such a time.
“Do you think we’ll have even one game?” asked a journalist after alighting. “No, we’re on holiday,” replied another.
There is a brighter side, though, and it is the drainage facility at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. There was plenty of rain ahead of a practice game on June 3 but the Bangladesh squad was able to get a full game in, and today, Pakistan were able to practice despite heavy showers.
The stadium, which also houses a furniture market, was buzzing with activity. If the drainage can hold, who knows, some of the Bangladesh players might make the IPL franchises wonder why those across the eastern border were overlooked.
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