Indore passes test

Rohit Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Indore, October 12

The crowds of Indore have voted with their feet. Close to 80,000 people watched the city’s first-ever Test match over four days — fewer people had watched the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. On this basis, Indore should be rewarded with frequent Test matches. 

Soon after the match ended, the local cricket association officials and the groundsmen carried incense sticks, coconuts and flowers to the middle of the ground, lit a small fire and performed a brief puja. They were celebrating Dussehra and India’s win. More than that, they were grateful that Indore passed the test of Test cricket.

Indore’s inaugural Test had much to recommend it. The pitch was the best of the series and yet again, Virat Kohli won the toss. India, thus, batted when the conditions were best to bat. Kohli, the darling of the masses, got a double century and Ajinkya Rahane made 188. The crowd was sated, but they wanted visitors to show their skills, too.

New Zealand fought like tigers when they were bowling and fielding; their batting, though, could not cope with the fear of the pitch. They saw the cracks on the track and were terror-stricken. Their mental breakdown caused the match to end in four days. Indore’s cricket fans didn’t mind the capitulation of the Kiwis too much, though. 

“Ab aayega maza,” said Safal Sood, who represents Madhya Pradesh in junior cricket, as the first ball was bowled. After four days, the 16-year-old from Guna was very happy that he saw Kohli score over 200 runs and India win rather easily.

There were noisy crowds outside the ground every morning. Sellers of India’s flag (Rs 150) also doubled as painters of India’s colours on people’s faces (Rs 20). Some of these vendors travel around the country, following the Indian team. “We’ve done a good business here, the crowds were very good and I made more money here than I did in Kolkata,” said a T-shirt seller.

No empty feeling

Often on Indian grounds, such as in Mohali or the one at Jamtha on the outskirts of Nagpur, cricketers get the feeling that they’ve been abandoned, that they’re playing for no one. It wasn’t so here. Yesterday Kohli egged on the crowd, talking to them and gesturing at them, to make a big din to put New Zealand batsmen under pressure. Even Ravichandran Ashwin, a somewhat reticent man, communicated cheerfully with the crowd, and they responded with endless shouts and cheers.

“It was a good crowd, 20 to 22 thousand people,” Kohli said yesterday. “We expected that, as this was the first Test. It was a good wicket that played well for the first two days and then allowed bowlers to come into the picture. Test cricket is a good format. I am happy that so many people came, not only while (India were batting), there were people while bowling too.”

“A cricketer feels nice on a ground where people come to watch,” VVS Laxman, the former India batsman, said. “There are good facilities for the players as well as the spectators at this ground.”

“Other venues must learn from Indore,” Kohli added.

That’s high praise indeed. Hope the other Test venues, especially the new venues such as Rajkot and Dharamsala, will be able to replicate Indore’s passion. For that to happen, the local associations must try their utmost to attract the fans. Gate money has not been important for India’s cricket associations for over 20 years, so the officials have stopped caring about the low turn-outs. They must start caring, for empty stadia drain the life out of Test cricket.