The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It hardly matches the expectations

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Saturday, Dec 13, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It hardly matches the expectations

Ramya Kannan

Bare stands and sparse spectators

Monty Panesar and Flintoff got some half-hearted cheers
Gun-toting security guards were posted all over the place

CHENNAI: Whether you enjoyed watching the match on Friday depends on what you expected out of it — a good game or some good cheer spirit.

It is likely that on Friday you could have been disappointed on both counts. As far as the game went, afternoon’s match was not really one of India’s better performances in recent times.

And of course, there is only a certain decibel we can touch with as only a few spectators were at the MAC on the second day of the England-India test series.

For the second straight day, nearly bare stands greeted the players, with some sparse population in just a few stands. The young ones, though, did try to be fair to them, especially a throaty bunch in the TNCA terrace area.

But there just was not enough critical mass, or by the afternoon enough moments to cheer, unless you were cheering for the team from ol’ blighty.

Tight security

Monty Panesar and Flintoff got some half-hearted cheers as they took field positions near the stands and the quick succession of batsmen who walked back to the pavilion got an ovation irrespective of how they had performed.

Possibly it had something to do with ‘my-hero-in-flesh-and-blood-kind’ of feeling.

However, as if to make up for poor-spirited fans or the sheer lack of fans, there were police personnel and gun-toting security guards all over the place.

In khaki, black and blue fatigues, why, even the mounted police swarmed the place, frisking the spectators as they entered and marching up and down with their guns, whispering into walkie-talkies.

Were they even perched on the roof?

An odd feeling for Chennai to get used to.

Though it was given to understand that mobile phones and cameras would not be allowed into the stadium, nearly everyone had a mobile phone, many had cameras, some with telezoom fixtures too.

As probably the only ones in the stadium that left the cellphones behind, we felt a little foolish, though we consoled ourselves that rules, after all, are meant to be followed.

Besides, there truly was nothing to call home about!

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