Blues ? that?s what the match held for the crowd after an appalling display by Team India. But it was a different story off the field, where the colours looked more vivid and vibrant. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, April 12: Heat proved to be the proverbial last straw for cricket enthusiasts at the Keenan, as the Indian top order collapsed like a pack of cards after stand-in captain Virender Sehwag won the toss and chose to bat first.

With the mercury hovering around 42 degrees Celcius and the performance on the field little to cheer about the patience of the crowd began to wear thin.

An advertising board was nearly consigned to flames and water bottles were being consistently thrown at the Englishmen as they were coasting to an easy victory in the afternoon.

Some bottles were also thrown from the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) members? stand, which is located atop the media box. The bottles, though, landed near the sight screen.

Thanks to some spectators, who doused the flames in the student?s gallery, ugly scenes of hooliganism that marred the India-West Indies (2002) and the India-Pakistan (2005) ODIs at the Keenan were not repeated.

The Special Task Force, which was deployed at the gates, also resorted to a mild lathicharge outside the Rs 800 gallery when some youths tried to enter the stadium without valid tickets.

The anti-India rant gained momentum as the home team stood at the receiving end in the second innings. Shouts of ?Dhoni! Dhoni?, which were heard during the masterblaster?s gritty 96, turned into jeers for Sehwag, whose poor run of form continued after being dismissed today on a paltry 4.

Keenan was also witness to a dubious record today with empty stands, the first such instance in its history of nine one day internationals, with testing weather conditions, in addition to the match being a dead rubber, probably keeping the crowd away from match.

Chairs under the shade of the Cri-Control Box also looked equally deserted.

Besides, the Rs-800 gallery (besides the Naoroji Pavilion) was more than half-empty when the match started along with the lower rung of the student?s gallery and the student?s gallery too wore a deserted look after the 25th over of the England innings.

Spectators also started leaving the match midway after the home team failed to put up a formidable resistance with its bowling as well.

For those who dropped by, shielded their faces with towels and handkerchiefs to weather the onslaught of the scathing sun.

There was little comfort in the galleries as well.

Several spectators had to drink hot water, which was served to them in pouches.

And the crowd tore big advertisement sheets to use them as shields against the scorching heat.

?It?s all over for us. The Keenan jinx continues,? said Modan Karmakar, while coming out of the Old Pavilion.