The Stadium is full. It is an awesome feel to be here. I think this is the first time I’m singing the National Anthem with so much passion. Even on Independence Day or Republic Day, I don’t care to watch the Anthem, even on TV.
Not today. With so much passion, I'm singing the anthem with 40,000 people. What an amazing feeling?
Actually, I did not have tickets until Sunday morning. I was desperate. I made calls to people and also posted request for tickets ad in the internet too. Finally got a call from Somasundaram ground, T Nagar, Chennai saying they have 3 tickets. I and Jimmy went there to purchase 1000 Rs ticket for 3000. Who bothers? Next month I will be getting a variable pay. I can compensate it there. If I miss this World Cup game, what is the point in earning? I went ahead and bought my tickets. Went to the around 12.30 noon and found a nice view to watch the game.
From here on it was real fun. I must admit that the Chennai crowd was biased towards one guy amidst 30 odd players.
You guessed it right. “The Great Man". He came in last to practice and had a few hits in the nets. Boy does his bat come so straight even in Nets? He went away after India won the toss and came back for Anthem. He departed soon after he got into the crease. Stunned silence as he got out, but then we all knew he will score in quarter finals.
When he came to field a funny incident happened. He was fielding near that squatting stand (B erstwhile) and all of sudden Dhoni wanted Kohli on the fence and Sachin inside the circle. The angry crowd got so tensed they started shouting "We want Sachin we want Sachin". Kohli was a dead duck. Finally Dhoni sent back Sachin and that section made more noise of joy than before. Poor Kholi!!! But guess he knew this would happen.
It is a kind of hutch advertisement. Wherever he goes his legacy follows
Also here I’m taking an opportunity to recall another interesting incident. One of my friend told me this. Long back, a German reporter was visiting Mumbai. At that time Sachin was batting and the reporter was travelling in a train. The train stopped at a station and all people including TTR came out to watch the cricket match on the TV sets at the station. The reporter went back to write " In India even time stops when one man bats "
Krishnan, Chennai
If Cricket were to be my religion, Sachin will be my God
Another incident which strikes my mind was the hundread he made against oz . The match started and India batter first , saching was out for 10 in first inings caught by taylor in slips of warne, the predule to this epic series was more around a sachin warne clash rather than an ind aus series.oz came to conquer the final frontier but al they had to setlle was watching the great man tormtn the all the way.
ReplyDeleteOk let me start , i was there all 5 days to watch the tets match in 2004 (not sure). Sachin gout out for 10 as I said and match rolled on until we hit the second inings. ramesh got out on 3 rd day and at that point the ground had 5000 people. chepauk at that time used to hold around 45000. new spread like wild fire that sachin is gonna bat for the scond inings and more significantly he did bat, 5000 odd people before lunch became 30000 before tea and the greta man made a scintillating hundread the next day when there were 40000 people.we won that match and the great man tonked warne and co to all parts,Chennai and most imporantly i am fortunate to see most of his test match hundreads in chennai. Neverthless he has an affinity towards to our city and obliges with a hundread in every test match he plays. Thanks Sachin you are special
Hi friend,
ReplyDeleteThat Ind aus match u r mentioning happened in the year 1998. Sachin was just then removed from the captaincy and the historic series happend. I still remember sachin turning out for mumbai to play against aus in one of the tour games and he scored his 1st first class 200 and he set the tone forr the entire series.
interesting..feel like i was in the stadium
ReplyDelete