Not so full this time
Unlike the 86,000 plus Indians cheering for the Men in Blue in the group stage match against South Africa at the start of the tournament, the MCG was almost half empty on Thursday with not more than 51,552 turning up for the big quarter final between India and Bangladesh. The reasonIJ One, it was a weekday so many couldn’t get leave, though there were some who had come in from across the country — from Perth which is a time zone away. Two, the visiting Indians from India and elsewhere have returned which means you can cut out 12,000 straight from the stands. Three but not the least, the last-minute tickets and accommodation arrangements were very expensive even for Indians living in various parts of Australia. No wonder then, there were repeated announcements at the MCG that the ticket windows were open for current sales. The lady at the window said, some thousands were available and in all categories. Once inside, you saw a half empty stadium even though India had won the toss and elected to bat.
Shikhar Jr has a ball
As Shikhar Dhawan battled in the middle with the Bangladeshi bowlers putting on the squeeze, his cherubic toddler Zoravar and Australian wife Aesha were in attendance in the stadium’s VIP enclosure. As the mother munched on some nuts, the son, quite uninterested in the proceedings in the middle, was having a great time taking his first baby steps around a glass table and throwing away the munchies put in a bowl on the table, just for him. Aesha, known to not like the limelight too much was not game for a photo session with some people who recognised her, preferring instead to cheer for her husband who had just then lofted the ball over mid-wicket in what looked like a pretty handsome shot.
Small but noisy
The Bangladeshi fans were a small group in the stadium though very vocal with their chords and the drums. Incidentally, the Bangladeshis do not shake a leg to Bollywood numbers which were blaring out of the surround system at MCG. They are very unlike the Pakistanis who had joined in in all the song and dance alongside the Indian fans at Adelaide except when “Jai ho” used to run. The Bangladeshis, instead, had trooped in with their drums and made a lot of sound beating them to rhythm not just outside but also in the stands where the Swami Army drummer had a lot of competition from the set of six Bangladeshi drummers who would not relent through the first innings.
Holy Molly Kohli
Virat Kohli may have walked cheaply (at 3) in a rare single digit presence in this tournament but he is a popular guy with the Australian youngsters. Two boys, barely 10 and 11 years of age, had come all the way from the countryside to cheer for him. They were at the MCG with their mother to show their support for Kohli and the Indian team. “Ah, we love Kohli, he is our man,” one of them said though the other had some views about Dhoni too. “He is a good skipper but we are the bat guys you know,” the younger one said. But what about AustraliaIJ “They’re taking the Cup so that’s fine by us.” So much for the parting shot by some rare Aussies who love an Indian idol.
Oh, main mar jaawaan
The organised dance show just outside Gate No 3 of the MCG was a great hit and kept up the momentum for the match for a couple of hours before the action started in the middle. The group, which danced to a slew of Bollywood numbers like Mar Jaanwaa, Jai Ho and the like, had the TV cameras running for footage , what with the troupe of Australian youngsters — some Indians other whites — all dressed up in psychedelic Indian costumes. While at Adelaide a lot of Pakistani fans enjoyed the show, most Bangladeshis at Melbourne decided to form their own music show with their quaint drums. Apparently, the dance troupe had won a bid among many applicants to perform at the ICC event.
Mortaza fined AND suspended
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortoza’s
World Cup woes continued even after the team’s quarter-final exit as the medium-pacer was handed a one-match suspension and slapped with a fine for his team’s slow over-rate. Mortaza, whose team was found guilty of bowling two overs short in the stipulated time to complete their quota of 50 overs against
India, was found to repeat the offence twice after being fined in the England game. Match referee Roshan Mahanama not only fined 40 per cent of his match fee but also suspended him.
Protests over ‘biased’ UMPIRING
Hundreds of Bangladesh cricket supporters on Thursday burnt an effigy of Pakistani cricket umpire Aleem Dar and marched in the capital Dhaka after the country was knocked out of the World Cup. They chanted “Shame, Shame. No to ICC conspiracy,” as they shouted slogans against the umpires and the International Cricket Council after Bangladesh’s best ever World Cup came to an end following a 109-run defeat against India. But Bangladeshi fans were furious after player-of-the-match Sharma got a big break on 90 when he holed out to deep mid-wicket off Rubel Hossain, only for Dar and fellow umpire Ian Gould to signal a no-ball for what appeared to be a legitimate waist-high delivery. Fans also protested two other decisions including a catch against Mohammad Mahmudullah that snuffled out any hope for a comeback by the Tigers.