Fans queue up outside Wankhede

Watching a One-Day International cricket match in Mumbai is a privilege for some. And just as the Wankhede Stadium gets dressed up for the u...

Watching a One-Day International cricket match in Mumbai is a privilege for some. And just as the Wankhede Stadium gets dressed up for the upcoming and eagerly awaited India-Australia day/night clash on November 1, thousands of crazy fans are once again clamouring for tickets/passes.

Strange yet true that despite the scarcity of tickets which go up on sale tomorrow morning, people refuse to lose hope. A few thousand had already lined up along the Marine Drive on Monday evening with baggage ready to spend the night on the footpath.

Among these were two die-hard Sachin Tendulkar fans — Sudhir Kumar Gautam bicycled his way 2,400 kms from Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Alexander Irani (son of a carpet fitter) flew in from London with his mother Shirin.

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‘‘I’m crazy about Sachin gushed a breathless Gautam, who cycled for 21 days to get here. I didn’t have the money, but I wanted to see him play in his hometown.’’

The Iranis were here to celebrate Diwali (Shirin’s parents live at Grant Road) but delayed their departure by a day hoping to watch the match. Twenty-six-year-old Gautam had earlier cycled his way to Jamshedpur to watch India and West Indies in action at Jamshedpur in 2002 while the 13-year-old Alexander had watched India beat England in a thriller at Lord’s in the NatWest trophy final last year. The lad was also lucky at getting Tendulkar and the Indian team autograph a cricket bat for him.

This time though the destination is different and one of the toughest of venues to get a ticket. Both fans spent hours at the MCA office hoping to see one of the MCA joint secretaries. While Shirin is willing to pay for the ticket, Gautam has no money on him and is hoping for some MCA officials to oblige him.

Railway authorities promptly took action, shifting passengers to other coaches and quickly extinguishing the fire.

Fire noticed in coach of Amritsar–Saharsa Garib Rath Express, no casualties reported

India10 min ago

A fire broke out in a coach of Amritsar–Saharsa Garib Rath Express at Sirhind Station in Punjab, but no casualties were reported. Railway officials quickly took action, shifting passengers to other coaches and extinguishing the fire. The train will depart to its destination shortly. The incident occurred at 07:30 hrs and is currently being investigated.

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