Chennai hosted the first ever T20 match on the 11th September, 2012. The match between the home team and the visiting New zealand team attracted thousands of people who thronged the stadium to witness the match live and the associated entertainment.
My friend Dr Gopal got a couple of passes for the event and I was fortunate enough to go with him to see this match that was result oriented within a matter of 3 hours plus. Fortunately, we had a car pass that could steer us right up to the compound of the stadium. By the time, we could get in to watch, NZ team had lost 2 wickets and the crowd was in ecstasy. The stadium did not get the face lift that it gets during the IPL matches and was lacking in communication display boards detailing the match that was in progress. The frenzied crowd clapped and appreciated the first 50 runs, boundaries and the sixes scored by the players and there was a sense of enjoyment all around. Yuvi's mother and family members sat in the adjoining enclosure and were seen enjoying Yuvraj singh in action with his bowling and fielding. The visitors scored 167 runs and lost 5 of their wickets with Irfan Pathan bagging most of them. Brendon Mc cullam scored a breezy 91 and was declared the man of the match. It is a matter of great appreciation and pride to note that the Chennai crowd was very sporting in applauding players of both the teams and gave lots of encouragement to the players.
The brief break forced us to visit a few stalls that were specially put up for a quick bite and a soft drink to quench the thirst. The food stuff that were being sold were too pricey. For instance, coffee was being sold for Rs40/- for a small gulp in a paper cup, cocktail samosas for Rs50/- for 5 small pcs etc.. exploitation is something that is born with any Indian and the stadium under the control of Tamilnadu Cricket association was no exception to this!
India came second to bat with Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli and entertained the crowd with their stylish knock.Kohli made a quick fire 70 in about 44 balls and took the home side to sight victory but the party was spoilt with disappointing batting from the captain Dhoni and his trusted aide Suresh Raina who could not en cash the advantage created to achieve victory. Yuvi sparkled with a knock of 34 out of 22 balls which included couple of sixes over the fence that brought the stadium down with thunderous cheering and noise.
However, India lost the match by 1 run. The T20 match does not show case the actual skills of the player as it does not give any time to plan or think for both the bowler and the batsmen alike. The entire match was seen as a welcome bugle for Yuvraj singh who battled cancer since the past one year and bounced back to play cricket after a win over the dreaded disease. The mere sight of the great player in Yuvraj sent rays of hopes for many who are battling cancer of various sorts and has ignited their hopes to win and be back to whatever they were doing. Youvraj deserves all praise to send out a strong message and signal to all those affected by Cancer that everything is not lost and you can win if you want to!!??
A sense of satisfaction prevailed after the match was over and it was absolutely Entertainment, Entertainment and Entertainment!
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