The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : First match at renovated Chepauk stadium

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Saturday, Dec 11, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

First match at renovated Chepauk stadium

Ajai Sreevatsan

Distance between the stands was increased to facilitate the flow of more sea breeze

— Photo: S.R.Ragunathan

A section of spectators at the ODI between New Zealand and India at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chepauk, on Friday.

CHENNAI: Sport is a great leveller. When the Indian ODI captain Gautam Gambhir stepped out of the pavilion towards the 22-yard pitch on Friday, many in the crowd were chanting his name feverishly. Within next three minutes, they would turn against him.

As he walked back after scoring a nought, a fan screamed “Look at him. After scoring a ‘duck', he doesn't even have the courage to look at us”.

The spectator then went on to mutter statistics on Gambhir's batting average. That is Chennai's knowledgeable cricket fandom for you and the setting was the fifth ODI between New Zealand and India at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium, Chepauk.

It was the first match at the stadium after the recent renovation, during which the distance between the stands was increased to facilitate the flow of more sea breeze into the arena.

While the stadium's capacity is 50,000, many of the stands were half-empty as the fear of a downpour kept many fans away.

K. Ashwin Kumar, a final-year engineering student who was trying to frantically reach his friends just as the match was about to start, said “The city gets a few matches and even then, the rain plays spoilsport. I've lost interest in buying tickets. This time I got tickets somehow and my friends haven't turned up. Some have woken up just now.” Looking up at the sky, he said, “Somberi pasanga”, and walked away.

Inside, 62-year-old Lalitha Krishnan was glued to the giant screen, trying to make sense of the proceedings. “I am here just to look over my grandson. He is watching the match and I'm watching him,” she said.

Does she know the name of any New Zealand cricketer? “I know this player called Vettari (Vettori),” she said. The last time she watched a cricket match at Chepauk was in 1978. “Security arrangements were unheard of then,” she added.

While some like G.Jayaprakash, a commando of the Special Action Group, did not care about who won or lost “as long as the match gets over soon so that I can go home”, there were others like R. Arun Kumar who kept standing throughout the match based on a superstition that it will help India win.

But in the end, many were disappointed by the one-sided show, with New Zealand being bundled out for a paltry 103. The entire match ended in the time it would have taken for one 50-over innings. “Will the authorities give 50 per cent refund on the ticket price?” asked Arun Kumar as he walked out.

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