Dean Jones faints en
route to a double-hundred; Chepauk salutes. Chris Harris works his way to a
hundred; Chepauk roars. Mark Waugh punches back; Chepauk applauds. Saeed Anwar
creates history; Chepauk adores. Shahid Afridi destroys India; Chepauk stands
up. Sachin special in vain; Chepauk in tears. Even ABD would have felt like
playing in his own backyard on October 22, 2015.
Probably, one of the
few venues
in the world which any visiting team would crave to play for; star
batsmen in the visitors’ dug-out knew their talent will be acknowledged.
Bowlers are certain
that even if they snap up the wicket of India’s cricketing god they would
receive thunderous cheers as and when they begin their march towards the
fine-leg and third-man fence.
England play South
Africa there is a buzz. England take on West Indies there is again a buzz. When
India play Pakistan, the fervour would well be hundred times bigger than what
it would be for first day release of a Rajinikanth blockbuster movie.
When Pakistan were
headed for win in one venue, the game came to a halt. Over here the arch-rivals
acknowledged the love of the crowd with a victory lap!
Taking all these into
consideration, Chepauk is deemed one of the most knowledgeable cricketing venues
in the world.
It was rewarded with
four international women’s World T20 match. This said with great respect to women’s
cricket. For one such unbelievable lady cricketer – Sarah Taylor - has made her
mark in the men’s league during Sheffield game in Australia.
Chepauk would ensure Charlotte
Edwards – England women’s team skipper — says: “Chepauk is one of the most
knowledgeable crowd I have ever seen.”
But this a cry of a
fan who isn’t greedy for an Indo-Pak clash, but was hopeful of at least witnessing
a Chris Gayle or a Brendon McCullum or Eoin Morgan take the flight to Chennai.
The fan here doesn’t
bother who is at the helm of affairs. He/she is least concerned about the
political scenario existing in the respective centres. He/she seldom
understands the behind the scene activities. He/she seldom knows the hidden
motives. All a Chepauk fan hopes for is a game of cricket irrespective of the
teams in fray.
Why not Chepauk? The
reason is ‘known to all’ – closure of three stands! What a pity, isn’t it?
Chepauk without three stands has hosted numerous IPL clashes; but WC is bigger
than IPL. Isn’t it? The MAC doesn’t even fit in to host the qualifiers which is
as good as any big ticket match for the fans here, is it not?
The most knowledgeable
crowd in the world; who cares. Will Bangladesh/Ireland/Zimbabwe any other team
in the qualifier cite the closure of three stands as a problem?
The most knowledgeable
crowd in the world; who cares.
Imagine a World Cup
Down Under sans Melbourne as one of the venues; imagine a mega event in South
Africa minus The Wanderers in Johannesburg; imagine watching a cricket bonanza
devoid of band music at the Premadasa in the island nation Sri Lanka; And one
can’t imagine a WC without the knowledgeable Chepauk crowd -- not once has it
missed out on hosting a match during a WC.
It will give WC a miss in 2016. Never forget; No
one is superior to the game and no game thrives without its fans. Baggs blabbers
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