Mullanpur makes ODI debut amid low turnout

The first international match at Mullanpur’s Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium drew a lukewarm response from cricket fans today. The Indian women’s team locked horns with the Australian team in the first of the three-match One Day International (ODI) series — a warm-up event before the ICC World Cup.

Chaos at entry gates and fans jostling for space in the stands were common sights during the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, but the stadium wore a much calmer look today.

The number of fans grew as the match progressed, peaking at around 6,000 to 7,000 against the total capacity of 38,000.

The West to South zones stands opened for fans saw some excitement, with the crowd cheering for their favorites but the atmosphere paled in comparison to the IPL matches.

“Fans should support women cricketers just as they do the men’s team. This is the same stadium which remains packed during the IPL games, but for the first ODI...there was a thin response. To mark the event, the PCA authorities should have announced free-entry to at least half of their capacity or for women audience,” said Pratibha Thakur, a young spectator from Shimla.

“Despite it being a Sunday, there was sparse crowd. This is the harsh reality of the most popular sport in India. It shows that fans prefer the T20 format or watching men’s cricket,” added Aditi, a junior cricketer from Punjab.

In stark difference from the IPL matches, the security personnel at the stadium were rather relaxed.

“This was different from the previous matches held here. We would end up frisking thousands and receive many complaints. However, today, things were relaxed and we had our lunch on time,” said a Punjab Police personnel on duty.

“There were many factors at play, including the India-Pakistan T20 Asia Cup tie or the rain prediction, which may have stopped the fans from coming. This was the lowest turnout we have seen here,” said one of the officer’s subordinates.

The same venue is scheduled to host the second match on September 17 — which is a working day.

Parking woes persist

Despite the thin crowd, the parking problem troubled visitors once again. Vehicles were stuck in slush at the designed parking lots set up on open fields.

A spell of rain on Saturday evening and Sunday morning also make some of the spots inaccessible, forcing fans and others to park their vehicles on the road leading up to the stadium.

“The parking facilities could have been managed better. The vehicles having low clearance faced real trouble. Since there are few takers of women cricket, the parking of vehicles may have been allowed inside the stadium,” added Sudhir Rampal, a spectator.

Indian Skipper Harmanpreet felicitated

Indian skipper, Punjab’s Harmanpreet Kaur was felicitated with a silver plaque by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann before the start of the match. Harmanpreet was making her 150th ODI appearance for India. She became the third Indian cricketer after Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami to achieve the feat. Having made her debut against Pakistan at Bowral in Australia on March 7, 2009, she has scored a total of 4,080 runs and picked up 31 wickets in her 16-year career.