Wonderful experience watching Karnataka win Ranji QF against UP

I have ever been to stadium to watch cricket match only four times before - tests of India v Aus in 2008 and India v NZ in 2012. India v Aus warm-up ODI in 2011 WC and Karnataka v Punjab ranji match in 2009 at Mysore. Today was another wonderful crowd experience at M Chinnaswamy stadium, watching Karnataka beat Uttar Pradesh by 93 run in quarter finals. Perfect birthday gift to Rahul S Dravid :)

Reaching Stadium:

Left room at 9AM and caught 9:16AM metro from Indiranagar. The stadium is about 1km from MG Road station. On the way, couple of school girls noticed me wearing Hunger Games t-shirt. Couldn't catch what they said about the series, but overheard one of them liking Harry Potter and hating Chronicles of Narnia. Near the Cubbon park circle, police were overseeing bunch of cycle enthusiasts saying No to Fuel.

Entering Gate 4 (free entry, thanks to Cricinfo for the info provided in live blog on day-1), I saw a father ushering in with his kid after security check and then saw the school girls met by another already waiting in stadium.

Crowd:

I was just about ten minutes late to start of play, but already about 200-300 or more people had turned up. Old cane supported men to school and college students and parents with their kids formed the crowd. I even spotted two groups of foreigners. The crowd built up steadily throughout the morning session. At one point, an elderly gentleman went to next stand only to be spotted by security guard and brought to our stand. But before lunch, security had no answer to building crowd which filled the stand more than 80-90% and spilled over to the next stand. Afterwards, I saw that there were 75 seats in one row and about 25 of them in this stand. More than 100 were in members stand. So overall, crowd count was more than 1500 and close to 2000 I feel. If the match had been in Mysore, it might have been overflowing stadium, but good crowd nonetheless for Bangalore.

Observing nuances of cricket:

Watching live in stadium may not be as clear as watching on TV but crowd experience and observing players from afar are two advantages. We get to see captain, wicket keeper and other seniors in the side setting field, the sign language used for it, automatic fielding position change when left-hand and right-hand batsmen change ends, fielders on edge of boundary are alert and wave hands when they have to move in/out or sideways. Atleast twice I saw gully and mid-off exchanging their fielding spot and once an elaborate personnel change.

View of match

Scorecard:

Initially, I was at a loss who was bowling, batting, score, etc. The crowd was still building up and empty seats between. Then as I noticed the LED scorecard on the opposite side (explains the choice of stand for public). It was very detailed - batsmen on crease, bowlers, team score, runs to win, extras. Would often change to show detail of particular batsman or bowler (adding boundaries, no-balls, wides, etc) or when team milestone is reached. And a welcome message too. If only the nearby screen had been used for replays, it would have been truly remarkable.

Update was very fast, never missed before next ball is delivered. Only once there was an error - when RP Singh had come for 10th wicket, he was non-striker as batsmen had crossed when Chawla holed out but was credited the boundary hit by Ankit. It was soon corrected though.

Wicket filled morning session:

Murtaza and Srivastava added quick 32 runs in 6 overs before Vinay stuck. Just few balls before Vinay had added another slip - I wondered why was that when there were hardly any edges. But Vinay proved us wrong, something which repeated afterwards too in the day. Kaif was applauded as well as jeered to the crease. Mithun's run-up was pepped with our shouts and claps as he delivered bouncer to welcome Kaif. And next ball Kaif well struck only to find cover fielder! While the crowd stood and cheered, I felt sad seeing Kaif in such an awful form this season ending with a pair.

Loud cheers went up as Shreyas Gopal and Manish Pandey came after Vinay and Mithun opening spells. Murtaza and Gupta tried to unsettle by hitting a 4 and 6 off Gopal's 1st ball of his first two overs and another boundary in third over, while just missing against Pandey. But Gopal came back to dismiss both of them soon, crowd becoming noisier with each wicket. And when 1st innings hero Parvinder (quite a short lad) was bowled by Mithun offering no-shot, we felt win could be achieved by lunch itself.

Lunch:

As expected, there was rush to get lunch - tomato and mint rice, chilly bhajji and coffee on the menu. After I managed to get tomato rice (30 bucks), I noticed a paper clipping by the gate indicating items on offer and their price. Food was hot and good even without coconut chutney that I missed owing to crowd, perhaps better than I get in my office food court. Free water (those 20L water cans) was provided. Guess they didn't expect such a large crowd as bhajji soon sold out and people had to wait 5-10 minutes for fresh preparations to arrive.

I went down to first row railing to watch UP players having a batting session near the boundary line. And quietly slipped to occupy one of the desired first row seat! The UP tail-enders were smashing the balls to boundary hoardings and some of them crossed the grill into seats (empty stand, we were on first floor) - but kids from members stand took onus of returning them.

7th wicket partnership:

Piyush Chawla and Dwivedi had put on solid show before lunch (Chawla especially impressive against Mithun, scoring 4 boundaries including 3 in one over with a nice controlled upper cut - crowd was appreciate too) and continued after for few over after lunch. Crowd could sense the need of wicket and started one of the famous Bangalore cheers and motivation. Some were asking Kazi (close to our boundary rope) and Manish to up the fielding energy and ridiculed Uthappa for his laziness.

Karnataka players were edgy too, first fielding lapse when an overthrow resulted. Then Mithun didn't dive at third man to save boundary, but kicked a chair near the 12th man seats. Later he would slam the ball onto ground after failing to stop the ball with a dive.

One could credit the crowd when 7th wicket eventually fell. When the partnership was on 57, we pepped up Mithun's over so much that Chawla played out a maiden and last two balls had an edge and play and miss. Then next over, we started the first crowd chant for Shreyas (three balls continuously). Though two boundaries were conceded in that over, wicket arrived next over when Vinay Kumar took a good low catch off Mithun's bowling.

Quick end of innings after anti-climax:
Then Shreyas showed his tail enders demolition skill by dismissing Mishra and Chawla in consecutive overs - getting his first fifer in first class. We had doubt if RP Singh would bat (as he didn't bat in 1st inn and didn't bowl in 2nd inn) but he bravely came out to bat. Some in the crowd jeered him as No-ball. Ankit and RP started hitting out. Vinay replaced Mithun amidst call for Uthappa to bowl.

After drinks break (which got boos from crowd) Vinay got the stumps to walk and tumble after RP missed a swing. Everyone stood up to applaud and shout, Karnataka players zoomed inside including Sharath with his right hand slinged. But the umpire in middle called for replays and turned out to be No-Ball!!! Much to amusement of UP players and boos from crowd. Crowd rooted for Shreyas to get his sixth but Vinay eventually hit the stumps again and this time umpire only shook hands instead of calling for replays.

Celebrations:
Karnataka players were jubilant obviously and responded to our cheers by clapping overhead. Soon both teams shook hands and there was some sort of presentation. Mithun got MoM award I think, he in black floppy hat got a special shake of hands. There was team photo shoot and then Shreyas got a special one for himself with stumps in right hand and ball in left hand. Was joined by Mithun later.

Jubilant celebrations

 

Special Moments:

• Mithun kicking chair when he failed to stop boundary
• Good catches by Vinay and Nair, direct hit from long-off, Shreyas stopping a boundary and thankfully no dropped catches
• Spotting Praveen Kumar (shaved and all) and Mohammad Kaif on boundary line. PK nodded his head and Kaif waived hands to acknowledge our cheers
• RP Singh called No-ball when he came out to bat but survived a bowled on No-ball!
• Crowd appreciating UP's milestones and Chawla's shots
• Crowd taking their pics and some selfies to record their moments in ground
• Chanting Shreyas Shreyas, Mithun Mithun, calling for Uthappa to bowl, Sharath as Mandya express
• While leaving the stadium, overheard a dad telling his son - 'We saw ranji this time, we will visit for tests next time' and then seeing members taking pics against Wall honoring Rahul Dravid. 

Praveen Kumar walking by

Mohammad Kaif

PS:
India drew that test against Aus and won the series in 2008
India won the test and series against NZ in 2012
India won the warm-up against Aus and went onto win WC
Karnataka advanced to next round in Mysore and reached Ranji Finals, almost wining the trophy
Here's hoping Karnataka will win the trophy this time :)

PPS:
I regretted two things:

• Forgetting to take my camera to stadium - many had got theirs and had opportunity to take good pictures
• Not owning a smart phone - could have followed other scores and taken better pics than shown here

India Aus warm-up match Feb 13, 2011

After countless refusals, my friends convinced me for a WC match. The swaying point for me was India-Australia and warm-up match. And perhaps a chance to see Sachin from close quarters - hence the Rs 500 ticket (plus Rs 66 in tax) in D stand rather than Rs 250 (plus tax) in 2nd tier stands.

The match being a day-nighter starting at 2:30pm, I didn't have to worry about my friends getting up early in morning. But inevitably, plans of going early went awry. Eating 'heavy' lunch had to be canceled and instead me and Thiru cooked mixed-vegetable-rice (Anyone wanting the recipe can contact me or Thiru - absolutely free :D) Poor Yokesh, tired from roaming on Saturday and Sunday morning as well, had to gobble it :D

Around 1:20PM, we left for the match and any last minute chance of buying chart dispelled as the only nearby stationery shop was closed. Fortunately, the very first autowala was ready to come at meter-charge! Nearing the stadium on MG road, we could see crowd pouring in through various gates. Must have to applaud traffic management for not allowing too much jam and by 1:40PM we had reached gate no. 5. To our overwhelming surprise, there was NO QUEUE!! Going through the security was 5-min and by 1:46PM, we had 7 seats secured and I had taken my first photo.

Clear blue sky 

Reaching well before toss was the only consolation, as Team India were practicing on the other side :( (In 2008, when I had gone for India-Australia test match, Team India were practicing on our side of the ground). We could make out Ashish Nehra and Sreesanth bowling and there was huge cheer when the Indian captain arrived in blue jersey. MS Dhoni miraculously won the toss (and predictably chose to bat) but the big news was that Sachin had minor niggle and rested. By 2:20PM, our juniors had also arrived. A local band played before the start of match. The big screen was thankfully functional and the loud-speakers were well placed (but hard to make out what was said, thanks to 35K+ crowd)

The crowd were momentarily silent as it dawned upon them that Sachin wasn't going to play, but immediately started cheering as Brett Lee came steaming in to bowl at Gautam Gambhir. Despite maiden over, we cheered and let out oohs and aahs. Brett Lee's run-up was just awesome. When the over ended, it was like did we wasted our time and money for this? But it was Sehwag to be on strike now and everyone started chanting Sehwaaaaaag Shewag followed by clap-clap-clap. And when Bollinger's first ball full-toss was dispatched disdainfully, the crowd went delirious. We were sitting in the cover area (mid-wicket from other end) and expecting Sehwag's booming cover drive which never came our way.

Gambhir fell early and by 4-5 overs, the cheering was down to the odd boundaries by Kohli and Sehwag. The 7 of us were making too much of cheering that the viewers behind us couldn't see the play on field properly. We didn't stop our dramatic cheering much though and they permanently left the seats :D. Kohli and Sehwag put on semblance of a good partnership to keep us going but once Kohli and Yuvi were out, it quickly became a bore, what with MSD coming to crease. Around 14th over, I asked Srini and his friends to check out what the catering services were and to bring water. He came back empty handed and before I could reprimand him, he explained that nothing can be brought inside. What an idea Sirji! Reduces litter and potential throwing of bottles onto the ground! So, me, Thiru and Yokesh went (as it was only Dhoni batting). Prices and food items were reasonable whereas bottled water free and overall lot cleaner than my previous visit. And there's verification of ticket to get back in!

After we came back, our frustrations grew as Dhoni dragged onto his stumps (after a change of bat :D). Sehwag's sixer to reach his fifty brought crowd onto their feet again, but very next ball Sehwag got out draining our hopes. Raina and Yusuf were on crease now (the ground announcer kept saying new batsman comes into 'attack' :D) We were hoping that these two can drag on to atleast 40 overs to get to a respectable score. To bring some excitement, we started "We want Sachin" chant and very next ball Raina was out!

I kept reminding my friends about the 2008 test match against Aus where India had lost quick wickets and Bhajji and Zaheer played good knocks. Bhajji came and immediately dispatched Brett Lee for a four. But yet again, our hopes were dashed as Brett Lee's fiery ball knocked Bhajji's middle stumps. Piyush Chawla  was next and I said that he is not bad as a batsmen. He was out for a duck :D (After previous wickets, I had said that atleast no duck so far :-/ ) I repeated the same for Ashwin saying he has scored 100 in Ranjis, and this time I got lucky :P With each run, crowd cheered up and our hopes for 175+ score grew. Yusuf Pathan showed great restraint against the pacers. When Bollinger came back into the attack and threw the ball back at Ashwin, the crowd got all worked up and roared. Few viewers to our left had chart. They made a loud-speaker kinda shape out of them and started boo-ing (which continued intermittently till end of the match, inspite of police patrol very near them)

As partnership grew, we wondered why hasn't batting power play been taken. Then as David Hussey came on to bowl the 39th over, Yusuf Pathan cut loose. 2 sixes and the stadium roof was threatening to fall off. 2 consecutive wides were cheered raucously, but when Yusuf fell next ball trying for another six, the silence was deafening. And the next over, batting power play was taken with Ashwin and Viv Richards incarnation Ashish Nehra on crease. But Nehra must have somehow known our distaste - he hit a clean cut shot befit of top order batsmen and soon the partnership got India past 200, which at one stage looked improbable. During the 39th over, the big screen showed 38.9 overs!

Arun had gone for refreshments and came back with hardly believable news that Bisibellabath+curd rice were being served free. Someone explained that D-stand had a tradition (or was it because the ticket was 500+?) for serving free food. So, except me and Srini went to have it to avoid rush at innings break. Nehra hit two more fours and Srini wondered if we would end up batting all 50 overs. I said Nehra would try a sixer and get out which soon proved true.

After the innings ended, Tait came to practice. He initially took just two steps and bowled, which looked liked 140+ :D Soon he was in full flow, sending down balls with fiery pace. Srini and me then went to see if could get a bite or two. There was huge bottleneck at the doorway, with people going in both directions. When we finally got in, there was probably 1% chance of getting a plate and rice. So we got lays and a plate of watermelon, which actually filled our needs for the moment. Again, I liked that the workers actively cleared out used plates.

The lights had fully bathed the stadium as we went back. The sky looked grayish as if covered with rain-clouds. But in truth, not a single cloud hovered. The gentle breeze was cold enough for people to put on jerkins and sweaters. But we hadn't brought and kept ourselves warm by being active all the time. The local band assembled again just before the Australian innings start. They had done well with their beats and dance throughout Indian innings and did a brief one on the ground.

The local band

Soon the Aussies innings started with Dennis Lillee incarnation Ashish Nehra to start the proceedings. Shane Watson promptly dispatched the first ball straight down the ground, hardly breaking a sweat. I clapped, not mocking Nehra, but enjoying Watson's batting B-). Sreesanth started from the other end and surprisingly bowled well first few balls. So out came the Sreesanth chant all around the stadium and Tim Paine promptly hit a four. That put an end to our cheering for a while. After 3.1 overs, both Watson and Paine had identical score of 9* and we had a laugh at it. Munaf Patel replaced Nehra after two overs, only to leak more than him. I guess thats when people starting leaving or started contemplating leaving early.

Sreesanth bowled pretty well, but gave away the odd boundary as soon as we started cheering for him. Then the miracle happened - Sreesanth got Watson's wicket, that too Piyush Chawla holding onto a good catch. Though we thought there's not even a remote chance for an Indian win, we cheered so loudly that Ricky Ponting coming onto bat must have wondered if India was on the verge of world cup final win. Ponting was obviously boo-ed to the crease (unlike the TOI reporter from corporate box within closed wall reporting that there was no boo-ing). We said to ourselves that, if even one ball hits Ponting on the pull, it would be worth our ticket cost. When Sreesanth returned to his fielding position, he was more willing to respond to the crowd's call, as well as punching his fists in the air.

But Ponting and Paine set out to kill any tiny bit of expectations after Ponting got lucky start with edges missing the fielders in Ashwin's first over. We started discussing when to leave and resorted to seeing how run-rate was dropping, making fun of Ponting and laughing at a peculiarly odd sound made by the loud-speaker-charts. We targeted a particular cameraman looking like an Aussie with Merv Hughes like mustache. All seven of us pointed our mobile phones at various angles and clicked (or simply made action of clicking) whenever he seemed to point his camera in our direction.

The aussie looking cameraman whom we mocked

After a while, Yokesh and me started discussing on how effective Yuvraj was and he got a wicket as his is won't these days. But what was astounding was the one-handed running catch by Munaf Patel. Perhaps Aussie players went into a shock state seeing that catch? :D The crowd let out a loud cheering for the wicket, but by that time some had started leaving. The Pup and his master were on crease now.

Chawla picked up Clarke next over for a duck, but 120/3 and 95 to get from 27 overs hardly looked a case for Indian win. We thought we'll leave after 25 overs. Thiru said 30 overs. And Chawla then produced his magic - White and Hussey dismissed in consecutive deliveries. Crowd were well and truly onto their feet now, creating ear piercing decibels. Mexican waves started doing rounds (very very nice seeing the raising of hands passing from one stand to the other), I think there were 1-2 rounds in the Indian innings. Every ball was cheered and we were egging on with chants of "India Jeethega" And when Chawla dismissed Ferguson, the match had become irresistible to miss anymore. Somewhere between the wicket carnage, I was so confident of Australian win that I gave my word to Thiru to pay his ticket cost if India won. (See, ultimately, this bet on my part only won the match for India :D) And sometime during this carnage, the police doing rounds found viewers in front of us using camera and confiscated the batteries (perhaps for their use or to sell it :-/ )

Our expectations had grown out of bounds, so when wicket didn't fall for 3+ overs with Johnson looking confident to give company for Ponting, thoughts again crept to leave the stadium. Around 55 was required with Lee and Hastings to come. It was 35th over, and I said that we are definitely leaving after this over. But Bhajji ensured that we would not leave without witnessing an Indian win by stumping his bunny Ponting. The celebration for Ponting's dismissal must have lasted around 5 minutes (including the 3rd umpire referral). Johnson's big hit seemed to threaten a comeback for Aussies, but Bhajji effectively sealed the deal for India next over with two wickets. In Ashwin's last over, so much was happening so quickly that I failed to get a look at the final wicket, but who cared. The outbreak of victory with hi-fives all around will always stay in mind.

Some events which am not able to place in chronological order:

• Zaheer going across and coming back was cheered throughout, he acknowledged for a while too.
• Justin Langer moving around, but not turning around for our calls x-( :P
• During the initial stage of the Indian innings, a lady in front row just stood like a pillar! After several calls did she relent and sat down.
• Throughout the match, one of the cameraman came very near to the barricade to show people sitting/standing there onto the big screen. As he used the camera below the barricade height and horizontally, we had no chance of coming onto the screen. We thought of going near the barricade just for the camera, but never did.
• One of my junior had brought head phones (of Nokia mobile), the security didn't allow them inside, took it from them and asked to collect after the match. Both the security and head phones were missing after the match. The place where the security had collected them had batteries and other stuff thrown around. Advice: Don't take anything other than wallet and mobile to the stadium

One of the best experiences to date for me (am I using such words too often these days? blame it on  cramped busy life :D) The way we shattered invisible wall of restriction around us by dancing, cheering, boo-ing, mocking, shouting our throats sore(it still is sore) and what not. Felt like true freedom. And yes, an Indian win - icing on the cake :)

Arun's blogpost on this match can be read here.