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Sand artist welcomes Team India in style

Special Correspondent

Sudarshan Pattnaik creates a sculpture on Puri beach

BHUBANESWAR: A day after Greg Chappell was hit on the back by a political activist soon after his arrival at the Bhubaneswar airport, well-known sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture to welcome the coach and members of the Indian team on the Puri beach on Tuesday.

Mr. Pattnaik, a cricket lover, took five hours to create a 20-feet-long cricket bat and a ball bearing a message, `Welcome Chappell and Team India'.

Taking the help students of his Golden Sand Art Institute, Mr. Pattnaik took five hours to create the sculpture using 15 tonnes of sand.

"After their victory in Nagpur, everyone should encourage the Indian team," he said.

In Bhubaneswar, Mr. Chappell and Team India members found time to visit a tribal school on the outskirt of the city. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly and other players interacted with the children of the school.

The players were accompanied by Orissa Cricket Association president and member of the BCCI selection committee Ranjib Biswal.

The school, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, has some 3,000 students drawn from different parts of the State.

Outlet opened

In another outing, two Indian bowlers - Rudra Pratap Singh and Ramesh Pawar - ventured into heart of the city to meet their commercial commitments.

The occasion was opening of sports apparel major Rebok India Company's Super Factory outlet in the capital city. Organisers had invited Rahul Dravid for opening of the outlet but he was not available for the purpose.

Before the opening of the outlet, cricket fans, who were also expecting star wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, swelled on the busy Bapuji Nagar road.

Traffic personnel had a tough time managing the crowd.

Meanwhile, Director-General of Police continued with his investigation into the airport incident.

The DGP was likely to submit a report to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday.

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