 It’s ODI time at Chepauk
The South Africa-India ODI match at Chepauk is barely a week away. The stadium is abuzz with activity, and thanks to the recent rains and the efficient TNCA groundstaff, the ground is a green carpet. Knowing the Chennai cricket fan, I have no doubt there will be a packed house to greet the two teams, especially after India’s performances against Sri Lanka. TNCA should have no worries about selling tickets; for all we know, all tickets may be sold out before you read these lines.
I wonder if anyone camps out at the stadium the night before the match as we did back in the fifties, sixties and seventies. The first Test match I saw was at the Corporation Stadium, later rechristened as the Nehru Stadium. Vinoo Mankad (231) and Pankaj Roy (173) put on a world record 413 for the first wicket against a New Zealand attack consisting of captain Cave, MacGibbon, Reid, Alabaster and Poore. (I didn’t need to refer to any published information to recall these details and that’s how strong those early memories can be). I was just eight years old and I remember being carted in a hand rickshaw by the family rickshaw-puller Kathavarayan, who actually ran a substantial part of the distance from Alwarpet to the stadium at My Ladye’s Park behind Ripon Buildings.
At the ground, there would be adults who had kept an all night vigil to enter our stand as soon as the doors opened. They would have reserved a large number of vantage seats, which they would distribute among friends and relatives, followed by other spectators on a first come first served, best-behaved basis! People who demanded seats by right would be sternly refused, ejected even, if they continued to be rude, while nice people, senior citizens and children would be given preferential treatment.
Lunch was usually a grand feast, packed and sent by wives, mothers, aunts and grandmothers of the spectators. There was never any shortage of entertainment in the galleries, even if the cricket itself was boring. There would be group songs, trumpets and bugles galore, not to mention the noisiest drums and cymbals. Fielders who dropped catches or “let goals between their legs” were mercilessly ragged, while good bowling, fielding or batting was warmly, noisily applauded. The cricket knowledge level in the stands was astoundingly high, matched only by the unusual sense of humour of the largely Triplicane-Mylapore crowd. Sometimes, the jokes descended to the PJ level. Example: Who does Gary Sobers think he is, playing lefthanded against India’s best bowlers?
At close of play, you left happy and satisfied at having watched a good day’s cricket, no matter how tired your limbs from jumping up and down in excitement and how hoarse your throat from all the shouting and roaring. And if you were lucky, you caught a fleeting glimpse of your heroes when the team coach crossed your path. That took you straight to seventh heaven.
Test cricket returned to Chepauk after a 12-year hiatus in 1967 January. How unforgettable that Test was! The whole city had been reeling under the shock of the news of MGR being shot at by M R Radha, and only when it was known the matinee idol was out of danger did the match start as per schedule.
It was a wonderful match, closely fought, and exciting till the last session on the fifth day. Gary Sobers saved the day for West Indies in the company of tailenders, after eight wickets had fallen. The famous trio of Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrasekhar came together for the first time, Farrokh Engineer nearly made a hundred before lunch on the first day, Borde, Hanumant Singh, Wadekar, Subrahmanyam, Lloyd and Sobers played scintillating innings. Chepauk never looked back after that.
V Ramnarayan
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