CALCUTTA, March 20: The crowd, it seems, is coming back to Test cricket. The first day of the second Test at the Eden Gardens did not find a very large crowd. However, when India bowled Australia out in one day, interest was generated and serpentine queues formed at the daily ticket counters even after lunch on the second day. By the morning of the third day, transistors were out in buses and roads. Offices wore a deserted look and eager fans stood outside the stadium asking for spare tickets.Dalmiya Hero No 2
Calcutta has another cricketing hero besides Sourav Ganguly. Ask any fan and he will tell you that the person is the ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya. The cricket administrator made a brief appearance at the Club House today, as he does every day. In no time, Dalmiya was surrounded by cricket followers, both young and old, requesting for autograph. It took time, but the man has finally been able to make his point that cricketers are not the only ones in demand in a cricket stadium.
Footin the board
The cheeky messages being flashed across the giant electronic scoreboard every now and then had to goof-up sooner or later. It did, today. As Nayan Mongia hit another of India's boundaries, the message on the scoreboard read ``excellent over boundary''.
Wives' day out
When the Indian cricketers are out there on the field, their wives normally have a day out at the stadium. Sourav Ganguly and Mohammed Azharuddin's wives were there too. While Dona Ganguly thought it best to leave soon after Sourav was out, Sangeeta Bijlani (or Begum Ayesha if you like) was disappointed to see Azharuddin declare just an over after she had arrived.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
