Under a densely overcast sky, the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium saw quite a sprinkling of stardust before the showdown for the Vivo Indian Premier League trophy got underway. From the pantheon of the game’s greats, striking a sparkling presence were Sunil Gavaskar, Kevin Pietersen and Scott Styris.
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What set them apart was the stylish kurtas they donned, underscoring the Indian ethos of the over month and a half long extravaganza.
Years spent in the middle of cricket arenas across the world and never far from the spotlight even after hanging up their boots, the trio holding court in the media box showed no signs of stage fright.
The stadium, half full already a good one and half hours before the summit clash, broke into spontaneous applause on seeing a curly haired gent going by the name of Sachin Tendulkar. Staying close to the season’s last practice session, also in the blue hue of the Mumbai Indians was a fielder non-pareil — Jonty Rhodes.
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Mumbai’s fielders couldn’t have found a better guru than the South African who continues to be a live-wire, bat in one hand and baseball glove in the other to collect the throw-ins.
If anyone from the country could come close, it could only have been Robin Singh, who was also at hand. Keeping an eye on the Mumbai attack’s preparations was another world-beater in the pace-bowling department, a policeman turned cricket pro — Shane Bond.
In the other half of the ground, standing tall with the aura of cricketer evolved into the game’s elder statesman was Stephen Fleming.
Taking a closer and keen look at the gleaming trophy was Match Referee Javagal Srinath. The assembly of a cross-section of cricket’s whos-who was not surprising considering it was a culmination of the game’s most compact format.