Kerala - Kochi   

Kochi rides high on cricket frenzy

KOCHI: ‘Chake de India’ was the anthem on a day when more than 70,000 spectators turned up to watch the big fight at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor.

Hours before the final show started, cricket buffs from the hamlets of Kasaragod to the hilly Wayanad started playing to the tunes of the movie.

The magic created by the Shahrukh Khan movie refuses to die, as slogans wishing the Indian reverberated in the air.

“Chake de India became popular during the T20 World Cup. The movie and the song in it ignite patriotism in us,” was how Sunil, a marketing professional from Edappally, responded to a query on the cricket fever that lashed the city.

Posters of the Mr. Khan, who played the role of Indian hockey team’s coach, vied for space along with the faces of Indian team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

But it was the local lad S. Sreesanth’s name that rang through the stadium loudest.

Placards like “Sree send the kangaroos away” and “Sreesanth is our hero” popped up when the pacer came up with an interesting spell in the initial hours.

The stadium went into raptures when he scalped the prize wickets of Brad Hodge and Andrew Symonds.

“Look out for this speedster. He will go a long way,” was how a group of youngsters from Thiruvananthapuram reacted to Sreesanth’s wicket taking ability.

Sreesanth’s supporters who could not make it inside the stadium were not let behind in the celebrations. Clad in Indian team’s jersey and waving the tri-colour, they danced to the pulsating rhythm set by the traditional percussion.

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