Cricket lovers watch the India vs Pakistan semi-final at an electronics store in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, March 30: Roads wore a deserted look, attendance in the offices was thin and even students skipped classes as cricket fever gripped the city today.

Even in offices work moved at a snail’s pace with people gathering around the nearest TV set to watch the much-awaited India-Pakistan semi-final match being played at Mohali.

“For once the bosses too were not complaining. In fact, they too stole a glance at the TV or enquired about the status of the match,” said Debabrata Mishra who works for an IT firm.

At the state Secretariat, the match was the hottest topic of discussion among the employees. They were seen huddling to discuss the merits and demerits of each shot.

Few files really moved and most of the workers appeared to be biding time, waiting for the clock to strike 5pm to rush back home, where they could watch the match at peace.

Cricket mania was also evident in the state Assembly premises where TV sets in the lobby and in the ministers’ chambers showed the match rather than the proceedings of the legislature for the better part of the day.

While the legislators remained glued to the TV sets in the lobby, some of the ministers watched the encounter in their chamber. Even the fourth grade employees of the Assembly had a field day with their bosses not objecting to their subordinates watching a cricket match on television. The students skipped classes in schools and colleges across the city to watch the match at the nearest dhaba or pan shop that had a TV set.

Some students were quite candid about it. “In fact, I was not keen on going to the college today. But I had to go, as dad would not tolerate me sitting and watching the match at home. So I went but bunked a few classes to watch the match in our college canteen,” said Suhas, a first-year engineering student.

In the afternoon, roads in the capital were almost deserted with people either enjoying the match at home or in their offices. Even street urchins could be seen glued to TV sets in the roadside eateries and pan shops, which drew crowds.

Some of the city hotels made special arrangements for their clients to enjoy the crucial match on giant screens while they were plied with food and drinks. One of the hotels did it in collaboration with a private TV channel.

“The response was overwhelming. We are going to do this more often in future,” said an organiser.