At a distance, a dance troupe is practising a little routine. And there’s Ewin Flynt standing alongside a 22-yard green patch. “There will be a bit of movement, and I will like to keep some of the grass to bind the wicket. I would like to see a lot of fours and sixes. I know the crowd will be looking for that,” he says.

Outside, Leslie has been at the ticket counter for close to an hour. She’s turned up because “almost everyone in the town has been talking about it”.

“I don’t have any favourite team, but I will cheer for any South African who comes out to play. Just want to see some T20 cricket,” she says, passing over the 40 rands across the glass counter for a ticket. “It’s for next week’s game. This weekend’s have been sold out.”

Vincent, meanwhile, is looking at the IPL as a good business opportunity. From selling toys made of thin electrical wires at intersections, he is stocking up knock-off IPL t-shirts. It goes without saying that he’s collecting those with South African names on them to start with.

“Only these will be in demand. We are proud South African people, and the crowd wants to see our guys competing with other boys,” he says, reeling out the names of players in his stock. “I might get in Kevin Pietersen too. He’s South African born, you see.”

Little wonder then that South African players such as Graeme Smith, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, JP Duminy were eager to get done with the Australians, raise the series trophy after Friday’s last one-dayer, and then spilt into different camps. Chennai Super Kings will take on Mumbai Indians to start things off on Saturday, and later on, Bangalore Royal Challengers will play defending champions Rajasthan Royals.

... contd.