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| Team India players arrive at Barabati Stadium for a warm-up session on Friday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das |
Bhubaneswar/ Cuttack, Oct. 25: The Men in Blue put their football skills to test after their practice session at the Barabati Stadium was cancelled due to wet ground conditions on the eve of the fifth ODI against Australia.
Led by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Team India reached Barabati Stadium around 11am. But a flooded ground left no chance for practice. The players then walked into the Sachin Tendulkar Indoor Hall and played football for close to an hour. A few minutes later, Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin moved to the OCA (Odisha Cricket Association) Club for a game of badminton.
“The players enjoyed their leisure today, cracking jokes and back-slapping. But it was not difficult to read the disappointment in their eyes every time they looked at the inundated ground,” said a cop deployed at the stadium.
The OCA has already declared the ground unfit for the match on Saturday. However, the match referee would take the final call tomorrow. If cancelled, the seven-ODI series would effectively be reduced to a five-match tournament that the Australian side is leading 2-1.
The warm-up session was followed by a sumptuous lunch. Mahi and Co. partook of 16 Indian and exotic delicacies rustled up by the local Mahavir Catering Services. Sources in the OCA said the players especially appreciated Thai chicken, kebabs, plain rice curd and other tandoor dishes.
“We had received a menu request of around 16 Thai dishes and all of them appreciated the food. Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Jadeja and Yuvraj Singh were bowled over by the special Thai chicken curry, chicken tikka, naan and kulchas,” said Dilip Kumar Sahu, owner of the catering party that has been serving the visiting teams at Barabati since the first international match was played in Cuttack in 1982.
Most Indian players were also served a variety of fruits, including Australian grapes and apples. A lot of fresh juices and other vegetarian dishes were also in the menu.
Sahu recalled how former India cricketers such as Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Sunil Gavaskar always asked for Odia food, especially dalma, santula and jeera-aloo curry when they came here. The Aussies, who were scheduled to reach Cuttack by 2pm, remained holed up in their hotel rooms all day long. “Keeping the unfavourable weather and ground conditions in view, the team management decided against it,” said a source close to the Australian team.