Whoever said ODI cricket would lose its appeal with the advent of the Twenty20 format. India's Twenty20 triumph seems to have only added to the excitement behind the India-Australia ODI series 
set to begin at Bangalore tomorrow. The series is billed as a battle between two World Champions and I have to say that when put that way, it does make the 'battle' one to look forward to.
Its been a long long time since international cricket was played at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. That is, if you don't count the Afro-Asia Cup matches. Naturally, the whole of Bangalore is looking forward to this match. Infact, I was passing by the Chinnaswamy Stadium the day when the ticket counters opened and you wouldn't believe how long the queue for the tickets was. Almost about a couple of kilometers is my guess. Many people received a cash advance from their employer and immediately went to the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The tickets were, not surprisingly, sold out the same day.
Some 50,000 spectators are expected to turn up and, while it will be a headache for the security personnel, the atmosphere at the stadium is going to be absolutely electric!
The schedule for the series of seven one-dayers and one Twenty20 international:
| September 2007 Sat 29 (D/N) | 14:30 local, 09:00 GMT 1st ODI - India v Australia M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| October 2007 Tue 2 | 09:00 local, 03:30 GMT 2nd ODI - India v Australia Nehru Stadium, Kochi |
| October 2007 Fri 5 | 09:00 local, 03:30 GMT 3rd ODI - India v Australia Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad |
| October 2007 Mon 8 | 09:00 local, 03:30 GMT 4th ODI - India v Australia Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh |
| October 2007 Thu 11 | 09:00 local, 03:30 GMT 5th ODI - India v Australia I.P.C.L. Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara |
| October 2007 Sun 14 | 09:00 local, 03:30 GMT 6th ODI - India v Australia Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur |
| October 2007 Wed 17 (D/N) | 14:30 local, 09:00 GMT 7th ODI - India v Australia Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai |
| October 2007 Sat 20 (D/N) | 19:00 local, 13:30 GMT Only Twenty20 International - India v Australia Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai |
Here's hoping for a well fought, high intensity series!
0 comments:
Post a Comment