6 AM, Sunday, and the alarm rings, contrary to usual practice of snoozing it, put it off and promptly got up from bed…..The last time I did something like this on a Sunday was to attend a friend’s marriage, but this time the agenda was something else, Chepauk stadium to witness the 3rd day of play between India and Australia, more importantly to see Sachin reaching his century, who began the day with an overnight score of 71.
Rare are the days when I wake up before mom does. This day was an exception. Plan was to meet Gopi at A2B Velachery at 7.45 AM for a quick breakfast and catch the train to avoid parking woes. Everything went well as planned. Pongal Vada, a natural anastasia did not play spoil sport either.
Met Prasanna mid way and we were at the venue well before time. As always he helped me with tickets, he does that tirelessly every time.
The massive crowd that had gathered on a Sunday morning to buy day passes reiterated the enthusiasm for test cricket in India, understandably to watch Sachin reaching yet another ton, that too in his favorite ground in India. “Even if test cricket would ever lose its charm….never will it be in Chennai”.
Crowd ensured that we had a tough time sighting our entrance gate and with the help of ever helpful Chennai police we entered the stadium to find we had missed just an over of the morning’s proceedings. Only one mantra was reverberating across Chepauk “Sachin, Sachin and more Sachin”…promptly we joined the chanting which was short-lived as he departed soon at 81 and the enthusiastic crowd swiftly changed chants to “Dhoni….Dhoni…and more Dhoni”… and the game started to gain momentum..
Virat Kholi reached his century in no time and Dhoni was progressing well in the game. Impatient Gopi and me paid regular visits to canteen and grabbed whatever we could in short intervals as Prasanna was cemented to his seat determined not to miss even a single ball. All snacks and lunch items were fairly priced except water, which was selling for Rs 10 /- a glass.
The game in the 2nd session was indeed a treat to watch as India started losing wickets at one end and at the other Dhoni was striking at a rate of 80., Every shot he played conveyed a message to his critics. As the session ended, Dhoni was 2 shot of his well-deserved 100 and India 8 wickets down. We decided to leave early to avoid post-match rush in trains and waited for Dhoni’s century.
The wait was indeed short and the crowd gave a standing ovation as Dhoni raised his bat in the humblest manner possible. Modesty is the one simple word to describe his greatness!!
The stadium by now was to its full capacity and the crowd was amazing as always with their group chanting and Mexican waves. The most entertaining part was the giant screen displaying SMS texts sent by the crowd.
Few interesting texts:.
1. My mom asked me to visit temple today, I have come to Chepauk
2. I’m in heaven, God is here.
3. Clarke, can you do a Gangnam style with Warner….for which they sweetly acknowledged J
4. Powerstar fans show your strength .......and the crowd erupted
Good, no one sent a message reading “Divya I love you” in Sun Music style!!
The way Dhoni played with the tail ender debutant Bhubaneswar Kumar was commendable, reminding me of Steve Waugh’s innings with Gillespie against India.
Then, anticipating a quick fall of wickets we decided to leave the stadium to avoid crowed trains, only to regret later.
Dhoni reached 150 as I checked scores on my mobile and we started cursing each other. It did not take much longer to reach home and as I switched on the TV, Dhoni was at 199 as if he was waiting for me to return home to watch his maiden double century. Felt happy to watch that live as I updated the status in Facebook.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience and a well spent Sunday which would live in my memory for a long time to come.
End Credits:
Tickets arrangement: Prasanna
Good company: Prasanna & Gopi
Entertainment: Dhoni and crowd
Statistics: www.ndtv.com
Edits: P3
