Two days before the third ODI at Indore, around 30 curators from various districts and 50 labourers have descended at the stadium to wage a fight against incessant rain. Indore has had rain for nearly two weeks now that has left the outfield wet, and the pitch shrouded under cover.
“Bahut tension hai, neend nahi aati Thoda time mil jaye bus. (There is lot of tension, sleepless too, hope we get some time),” says the curator Samundar Singh Chauhan.. “We are praying here for past few days. I need few hours of sunshine and no rain. I promise you match will happen. There are 80 odd boys who are working day in and out. There are sweepers who have been called so that water is not logged. The entire outfield is cover We have called curators from nearby clubs and local districts. By this they will learn also. I need sun shine for few hours so that outfield can be dry.” Samundar said.
There is certainly been a lot of buzz around the game. The local dailies have been reporting the rain-damage to what would be the main course in the team dinner. Even how the Indian team prefers the dressing room named after former captain Rahul Dravid. “It’s a superstition,” a local scribe says. India hasn’t lost a ODI in this city.
Meanwhile, the local Madhya Pradesh Cricket association has been trying to show how transparent they are by standing in queues to buy tickets. The large signed board hangs outside Holkar Stadium stating that it will be a full house on September 25. Apparently, tickets were sold in few hours. And the queue had snaked along for more than two kilometers. When India played New Zealand in a Test match last year, it was packed house.
