It’s an unusual setting for a cricket ground. From the parking lot, walking through the practice facility towards the imposing stadium, undergraduates carrying heavy books catch the eye. In a campus that houses colleges and hostels, India and Australia will play the final game of the seven-match series that will now be merely of academic interest.

The visitors wrapped things up in Guwahati by taking a 4-2 lead, and the seventh ODI at the DY Patil Stadium will only be an opportunity for those on the bench to be a part of the action. More so for India since Australia don’t have much of a bench left due to the various injury problems.

In what was a closely fought series, the early end to the excitement has been a bit of an anti-climax, as an Indian batting mishap in Guwahati came at the worst of times, turning into a tour-defining event. As the players trooped into Mumbai — from the far east to the extreme west of India — it was clear that they would have to dig extra hard to find the motivation to keep the tempo of the series going with Australian skipper Ricky Ponting sure to lift the trophy after the game on Wednesday.

Stadium debut

But the officials at the stadium weren’t too bothered by the scoreline. The match is sold out, and they are planning to distribute 50,000 tri-colour flags to the crowd to make the first international game at the venue memorable.

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