World Cup: JP Nadda, Sukhvinder Sukhu among VVIPs turn up for high-voltage India-New Zealand tie in Dharamsala

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, October 22

Many VVIPs were in the city today to watch the ICC World Cup between India and New Zealand played at the picturesque Dharamsala international cricket stadium. National president of BJP JP Nadda, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, president of BCCI Jai Shah, union minister for sports and youth affairs Anurag Thakur, former CM Jai Ram Thakur and AICC general secretary and in-charge of Himachal congress Rajiv Shukla were among the VVIPs, who watched the high-pitch cricket match.

Besides, many Cabinet ministers in Himachal and ruling and opposition MLAs also watched the match.

The cricket fever gripped Dharamsala as fans painted themselves in colours of Indian team and national flag were seen around the city. The small town of Dharamsala was overwhelmed with the cricket spectators and enthusiasts. Despite police and the district administration making adequate arrangements, traffic jams paralysed main roads in the Dharamsala city. Common citizens of Dharamsala had to face problems reaching their destinations due to traffic jams.

State BJP president Rajiv Bindal, while talking to newsmen, credited the BJP government led by Prem Kumar Dhumal for bringing up the international cricket stadium at Dharamsala. The stadium has given international recognition to the city and has helped promote tourism here, he said.

The district administration was in a frenzy making arrangements for the visiting VVIPS.

With the hotels in Dharamsala reporting just about 60 per cent occupancy during the match, it seems that many tourists and spectators failed to get tickets for the matches.

Dharamsala international cricket stadium set up in the background of Dhauladhar mountain ranges and is considered among the most beautiful venues in the world. The stadium has come a long way in the last 20 years, from a simple playground to being the venue for five ICC World Cup matches being hosted here.

The year 2010 was significant in stadium’s history. It was in this year that IPL matches were hosted in Dharamsala. The match attracted thousands of cricket fans and BCCI officials to Dharamsala. In successive two years the IPL matches were main cricketing events which propelled the Dharamsala cricket stadium to international fame.

Fog stops play

In a rare occurrence, dense fog interrupted the World Cup match. Chasing New Zealand’s 273, India were 100 for two in 15.4 overs when sudden fog descended on the ground, resulting in poor visibility and forcing the umpires to stop the match for a brief period.