A country known for football heroics will make its cricket World Cup debut at Eden Gardens on Monday.
Italy will face Scotland in the T20 World Cup on Monday. Italy secured second place behind the Netherlands in the European qualification last July, which ensured their debut in the World Cup.
“The Azzurris are my favourite in football. I am looking forward to their cricket debut. I will cheer for Italy on Monday,” said Kumar Dipti Maiti, 34, from Tamluk in East Midnapore. He had come to the ticket collection centres near the Mohammedan Sporting Club on Sunday.
As did Alekhya Mukherjee, 36, a teacher in a government-aided primary school in Hooghly. Mukherjee will bring a group of 15 students to Eden Gardens for Monday’s match along with another colleague. He had come to collect the tickets on Sunday.
“The children take great pleasure in these excursions. They have explored the Alipore Zoo and several other sites in and around Calcutta. The Eden experience will serve as an excellent opportunity for them. While India will not be competing tomorrow, that is perfectly fine. It will still be an international match, a World Cup match indeed,” said Mukherjee.
Jerry Bishop, who comes from Dornoch, a beautiful coastal town in Scotland, has made his way to India to see his national team play. He is with a friend and fellow Scot, Stephen Massie. Nevertheless, the two actually became friends in India, connected through their enthusiasm for cricket.
“We first met in Nagpur during the T20 World Cup in 2016. Since then, we have travelled to different places to watch Scotland play,” Bishop told Metro at the ticket collection centre on Sunday.
The two will watch Monday’s game. But they are “really looking forward” to February 14, when Scotland play England at the Eden. “We want to witness our team beat England,” said Bishop, in his early sixties.
“Football and rugby are the two most popular sports in Scotland. We, however, love watching cricket. India is a great place to play and watch cricket,” he said.
The men sitting across the counters at the ticket collection centre, managed by an online portal, said many people had bought tickets for the February 14 game.
Rohit Agarwal, from Kankurgachhi, had come to collect tickets for Monday’s match. “I will be going to the stadium after a long time. The last time was in 2008,” said the IT consultant.
