At first
look you may not recognize !!
It was
year 1996 – the first time Sri Lanka had been in last 4 – 1 lakh strong crowd
cheering the home team. Chasing
250+ - Sachin Tendulkar played well but
not much of support. His school mate
Vinod Kambli was not scoring runs but was crying out in the middle for, with
the loss of the wicket of Aasish Kapoor, the crowd gave
vent to its pent up anger at the pathetic Indian batting. When it was clear
that the home team would not come out a winner, plastic water bottles and soft
drink containers were hurled into the playing arena. With 15 overs to go and
India reeling at 120 for eight, it was not possible for the emotionally charged
Calcuttans to stand the humiliation any more. The missiles continued to rain
for almost 25 to 30 minutes after the match referee, Clive Lloyd of the West
Indies, and the two umpires, Cyril Mitchley of South Africa and Steve Dunne of
New Zealand, led the teams out giving time for the crowd to calm down. The match was later awarded to Lankans.
Years later
– on the morning of first day in Feb
1999, Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad reduced Pakistan to 26 for 6 yet Pakis made 185. A strokefilled
79 by Sadagoppan Ramesh ensured a small lead.
India seemed to be cruising to a comfortable victory when Sachin
Tendulkar collided with Shoaib Akhtar and was ruled run out by the third
umpire. The final 10 deliveries of an
engrossing Test match were played out after a three-hour delay, in front of a
handful of officials, dignitaries and policemen. The huge crowd of Eden had
been evicted, the empty stands a sad contrast to the first four days of
exuberance and enthusiasm.
Crowds
in India are different – for close to a decade, 3 stands I, J & K of MA
Chidambaram Stadium remain empty following Court orders – violation of building
permit (how can such a thing happen ?) – yet Chepauk draws huge crowds. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's ascent to dizzying
heights put a small city like Ranchi inadvertently on the cricket map. From the
eastern state of Jharkhand, MSD has become the heart-throb of the city; he is
one of the most popular persons in Chennai, perhaps even better than some
political party leaders. On a Sunday evening (17.3.2019), ahead of a
CSK practice match at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, the serpentine queues
outside the main entrance could be mistaken for an eager audience ramping up to
an international match. The team bus arrived at the venue, to delirium. Every
spectator on the periphery, unfazed by the gruelling heat and humidity, crowded
around to watch – they had come to watch MSD practice.
Dynamo Dresden, who play
in the second tier of German football, have put their entire squad and coaching
staff into two-week isolation after two players tested positive for
coronavirus. The Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 are due to restart on Saturday, 16
May. It is set to be the first European league to restart following the
coronavirus shutdown. "The fact is that we can neither train nor
participate in a game in the next 14 days," said Dynamo. On Thursday, the
German Football Association (DFB) said the season would resume under strict
health protocols that ban fans from the stadium and require players to have
Covid-19 testing.
The Bundesliga (German: 'Federal League’) is a professional
association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest
average stadium attendance worldwide. At the top of the German football league
system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary football competition. The
Bundesliga comprises 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and
relegation. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games
played on weekdays. 56 clubs have competed
in the Bundesliga since its founding. Bayern Munich has won the Bundesliga the
most, winning the title 28 times. However, the Bundesliga has seen other
champions with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia
Mönchengladbach and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. The Bundesliga was founded in 1962 in Dortmund
and the first season started in 1963.
Now for the match on May
16 – the atmosphere's a bit flat!
Cardboard figures with fans' photos on are set up by German club as they
prepare to play without spectators due to Covid-19. They are making money on that too - Gladbach
fans are able to upload photos online and order a cardboard cutout for the
stadium for £17. Gladbach's first home
game will be next weekend as they head to Eintracht Frankfurt away on Saturday.
Life-sized cardboard cut-outs with photos of football fans are packing the
stands of Borussia Moenchengladbach's stadium ahead of their first home game
since the Bundesliga was suspended because of coronavirus. Gladbach fans have
ordered more than 12,000 of the £17 cutouts which have been placed in the
stands for their first home fixture at Borussia Park against Bayer Leverkusen
on May 23 in a stadium that has capacity of 54000.
The Bundesliga is the
first major European league to get back underway and will be playing behind
closed doors, with no more than 213 people, including players and staff,
allowed to attend stadiums. Gladbach's
first game will be an away fixture at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. The game
is set to be crunch tie as they attempt to solidify their place in the
Champions League, with Frankfurt just two points below them in fifth. Profits from the 'Stay at home, be in
the stands' campaign, kickstarted by fans of the club, will be donated to local
charities, it is stated. Six games are set to take place at empty stadiums on Saturday,
followed by another two on Sunday afternoon. British broadcaster BT Sport have
announced that they will be showing every Bundesliga game for the rest of the
season.
As the German league
swings back into action, the country reported another 798 cases of coronavirus
on Wednesday, taking its total to 171,306, while the death toll rose by 101 to
7,634. It has been one of the most
successful countries in Europe at flattening its infection curve and today
announced plans to reopen its borders with France, Switzerland and Austria by
the middle of June.
Interesting !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
14.5.2020.
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