Neutral venue, neutral teams, but a heart full of emotions. While Suryakumar Yadav and his Boys in Blue, warming up at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday ahead of their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final clash with England — which they won by seven wickets on Thursday — was on her mind surely, Eden Gardens also ensured that New Zealand and South Africa were loved as much and cheered for in their semi-final encounter.
Same fist bumps for Aiden Markram, David ‘Killer’ Miller, Mitchell Santner, and Finn Allen.
The scenes outside Eden Gardens an hour before the match might not have been as happily chaotic as when India takes the field, but the trooping vibe was all too familiar. Some had gone ‘Holi hai!’ in the first half, scrubbed somewhat clean to emerge human-like in the Eden stands, in the second half. Friends. Family. Girl gang. Boy gang. A solo outing. An evening out with kids. Eden painted a wholesomely picturesque setting, as always. Full marks for the infectious enthusiasm that once again debunked the myth that Calcutta is lazy. We are heartfelt and how!
I was hosted by Budweiser India in Block B (B Premium), the most coveted block in the entire stadium during the Indian Premier League. B1 is the ‘Don’s’ den, where Shah Rukh Khan stays put through the KKR matches. I have spent many a summer evening craning my neck to report on his flying kisses, waves and trademark hugs. On Wednesday, the adjacent box drew much applause with Sourav Ganguly watching most of South Africa’s batting from it. Eden bows and belongs to Sourav, and she has always shown abundant love whenever the icon from Bengal steps into her hallowed environs.
The hospitality box and the seats featured bright colours, and there was a yummy spread to enjoy while watching Finn Allen pummel the South African bowlers.
“I would rather like New Zealand to win because I think if England wins and plays in the final, they have a better chance of beating New Zealand than South Africa. They’re looking fantastic at the moment,” said Chris Millar, in between bites. The man from Nottingham, England, said he was trying to watch as much of the World Cup as he could. “I watched five games in Sri Lanka. This is my second game at Eden Gardens. I fly to Mumbai tomorrow (for the India-England clash), and I will be at the finals in Ahmedabad,” he said. His favourite Indian players? “I think (Jasprit) Bumrah is outstanding. I always liked, back in the day, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and I think K.L. (Rahul) is great. Virat (Kohli) obviously... outstanding. I also like Shubman Gill. I’ve seen him score so many runs against England that I just think he’s a quality player,” he smiled, dressed in a jersey he bought in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Catching a match at Eden Gardens had been a dream for him. “I have wanted to come to Eden Gardens for 50 years. I listen to Test match specials, and I remember listening to people like Ian Botham playing here. This is a dream come true,” smiled Chris, who played cricket himself.
Pratik Bajaj, 28, will remember March 4 for a long time to come. The self-employed Howrah lad caught a ball in the stands, and his euphoric photograph was captured by his fiancee Divya Modi. “I play cricket regularly, turf cricket, basically, and have been for many games at Eden Gardens. This is the first time I got the chance to catch a ball!” he smiled.
Arnob Bhattacharjee, Yogi and Ghurtikaa, seated a few rows away, had big smiles too at the beginning of the game, which turned somewhat despondent as the innings progressed. The Durban-based family came to watch South Africa win. “It didn’t go as we thought it would, but we are still patriotic about our country,” said Yogi. Arnob, honorary trade commissioner, West Bengal, India Commonwealth Trade Council, and an Ishan Kishan fan, was born in Calcutta, and left for Australia in 1996 and moved to South Africa in 2013. He and Yogi have been married for seven years. “I turned him into a South African!” smiled Yogi. Their daughter Ghurtikaa, five, came in a David Miller jersey. “I only like watching Miller because he is South African,” she smiled. The family loved Calcutta and also celebrated Holi during their current visit.
The match ended well before the scheduled time with New Zealand waltzing away to a nine-wicket victory. On my way back, I collected my hand-sanitiser from a secret crevice outside Eden. At that moment, as I saw a sea of people who had descended on the centuries-old cricket pilgrimage, I thought to myself how Eden was nothing but a vast ocean that gives back, every single time.
