bluerpk's Cricket Blog

This is my first attempt at blogging. Can't say how good it will be or how frequently it will be updated.

As the blogs title suggests the main topic of this blog will be about cricket and my thoughts on it.
Of course since I am an indian, the blog will be more on Indian cricket.

First Test match between India and Australia.
Watching the match at the stadium.
The First Test match between India and Australia ended today in Bangalore. As a Bangalore native, I was lucky enough to watch the match in the Chinnaswamy stadium on the first three days of the match. We had invitee passes for all the five days, however on the first day, when we went, we were very disappointed to see that the stand was at an angle which was unsuitable to watch cricket. The ball when delivered by our fast bowlers was not visible prompting my cousin to state that they were bowling at great pace. So, we decided to hunt for better seats and decided to buy the Rs 400 tickets to the beml stand directly opposite to the pavilion. This gave a great view of the cricket. I recommend this stand whenever you are going to watch cricket at the Chinnaswamy stadium. The stand is 'N'.
Watching the cricket at the stadium is strange. There are no replays. Hardly get to know whether a ball was edged, whether the batsmen was beaten, whether the lbw shout is close or not, whether a catch was dropped or whether it was short. In spite of all this, the involvement with the match makes the experience enjoyable, very enjoyable. The crowd appeals, makes a hell of a noise, gets into a mexican wave, applauds a good shot, cheers, boos, etc. Its just perfect.
This stand had the aussie supporters called the Fanatics. They were enjoying the experience of it all a lot. Probably haven't experienced such noise levels ever. They were getting totally involved with the crowd and were also enjoying the (spicy) food. Shows how much sport can do to get people understand other cultures.

Test Match Cricket is Alive!!
At least in India, particularly at Bangalore, which somehow strangely doesn't get as many test matches as it deserves, test match cricket is alive and doing great. On all days the stadium was at least half full. And on day four, I could not get tickets for any stand let alone the 'N' stand.
Back to lack of test matches at Bangalore - This was the first match in Bangalore after the India - England match when Anil Kumble got his 300th wicket. The next match (This one) sees here sees him get his 400th wicket. Says something about the frequency of test matches here. Quite unfortunate as the crowd is really great, knowledgeable and fully appreciate good test cricket. However, the unluckiness of the ground for India may not see many tests won by India here (more on this later).

Aussies Win.
One more match in Bangalore that the Aussies Won after their win in 1998 when they won a dead rubber. Sachin Tendulkar is on record saying that this is the ground that he least likes. With India losing so many, cant blame him, though he always seems to do well here as his record tells.
SR Tendulkar
Matches - 5
Innings - 8
Not out - 1
Runs - 439
High Score - 177
Average - 62.71
100's - 1
How much his presence in the team would have mattered is another question. This test match loss has wounded the India a lot. Everyone is speaking about wholesale changes to the team and there is bound to be some easy scapegoats like Ashish Chopra though he got two rough decisions (more on selection issues later).
Anyway the fact that even on the last day, the ground was more than 50% full and fans cheered loudly is testament to the fact test cricket is alive and kicking in India at least.