JAMTHA JOTTINGS --- By Paritosh Pramanik and Deval Kakde
IT WAS India Blue on the sale. With the T20 International coming to Nagpur after a long gap, fans made sure they didn’t miss to see their demigods. The India Blue T-shirts were sold like hot cakes by the vendors. They did not care for the cost of the tees which went up to Rs 800!
All they wanted was to look part of the Indian team. The T-shirt sellers were outside VCA Civil Lines where they were selling it at Rs 200. But as one moved towards the stadium, hundreds of such sellers occupied the footpaths and service lanes of the Hyderabad Highway, selling them at a premium rate.
PATRIOTS
There were several patriots who painted their faces in India tri-colours. The painters too made good money as a small three-dash flag cost around Rs 50. The price increased with the size of the tri-colour. The fans also wore tri-colour turbans and waved the flags showing their patriotism.
BEELINE
WITH no IPL matches conducted in the city, fans get few opportunities to watch Indian cricketers perform in Nagpur. They made sure they didn’t miss a single delivery and the
moment and made a beeline outside the stadium much ahead of the scheduled start of play. The serpentine line grew as the time progressed.
HOUSEFUL SHOW
IT WAS a house-full show. Not a single seat was left vacant and the stadium was full to the brim. The 44,000 capacity stadium witnessed an international T20 match after a long gap and fans came in numbers to make it a memorable moment.
BLACK
MARKETING
DESPITE tickets being sold online, there were many black marketers who made a few extra bucks by selling tickets at an exorbitant price. A spectator said that he brought a ticket of Rs 750 denomination for Rs 3000. There were many who paid much more for some other seats. All they wanted was to be inside the stadium and watch the cricketers play.
ROHIT, VIRAT STILL IN DEMAND
THEY might have retired from Tests and T20 Internationals, but star cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are still the heart-throb of millions of fans around the world. The two have lit up stadiums around the globe and fans could not fathom their departure from two formats of the game. The T-shirts are still on demand and the stadium was full with VIRAT and ROHIT T-shirts. So what they are not in the side, fans still love their favourite cricketers.
PUSH OR PULL
IT IS important to apply correct signage at the correct position during a big event like international matches. Wrong information might make things dangerous. During the match, one of the spectators in the corporate box was about to break the glass door unknowingly due to wrong sticker signage on it. The glass door was supposed to be pushed to open it but the signage read ‘pull’. The spectator following the ‘orders’ pulled it only to see it bang the huge door into the frame. Luckily, it did not break.
PRECIOUS LOSS
MATCH tickets are a precious commodity. It takes a humongous effort to get one. But tragedy strikes when one loses them. Such an incident happened outside the stadium when two bike-borne men snatched tickets from a youth. The ‘thieves’ sped away on their moped. The youth approached the police to register a
complaint.
GAME OF A BILLION DREAMS
ONE enthusiastic little cricket fan was seen keenly observing each and every aspect of this beautiful stadium and asking array of questions to his father. He asked, ‘what it takes to be on that green playing surface?’ The father patiently replied as said it takes a lot of hard work to achieve success. Hope the kid takes the teachings seriously and achieves his goals.
‘TASKAREE’
DESPITE heavy checking at the turnstile posts, few spectators managed to smuggle Nagpuri ‘Kharra’ inside the stadium. Hiding them where nobody can reach, Nagpurians came out victors in dodging the volunteers at the gates. One of the spectators was seen taking it out from his socks and sharing it with a fellow Indian supporter. Their cricketing knowledge was too ‘commendable’ as they recognised ‘Rinku Yadav’ practicing with ‘Kuldeep Singh’.
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