Hyderabad, November 06: The near-capacity crowd – many with colourfully painted faces – had to wait, to be precise, till 7.03 pm to see the biggest crowd-puller – Sachin Tendulkar – keep his date with another piece of history in his illustrious career – scoring 17,000 runs in one-dayers. The way crowds stood up to salute the legend will perhaps be frozen in memory of all those who thronged the stadium. One milestone which made the first-ever, day-and-night international at Uppal truly memorable.
But, they had to pay a heavy price to watch the match! Some things don’t seem to change at all when Hyderabad hosts any big cricket match and the India-Australia ODI at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on Thursday was no different.
Things continued to be pitiable for the average fan in the stands even as the floodlit venue provided a fantastic ambience as the sun faded out of the skyline. A glass of water (not a bottle) was sold at Rs. 10 ! A packet of chips which otherwise would have cost Rs. 10 was priced at Rs. 30 ! Stinking snacks were also priced heavily. When someone dared to raise questions, the reply was on the predicted lines – buy it if you want or go and tell anyone whom you want.
When the BCCI vice-president N. Shivlal Yadav’s attention was drawn to such a possibility recently, his response was that efforts would be made to introduce affordable rates. It’s now clear that none has cared for such an assurance.
Positive aspects
There were some positives like the much better organised entry through various points into the stadium except for one where some over-enthusiastic fans broke the gates open. The giant screen and the scoreboard ensured that the fans got all details they wanted. Even the traffic on the approach routes to the stadium was smoother with no traffic jams thanks to the efficient cops who manned important junctions.
–Agencies