A lot of cricket, a dash of Wenger
Nearly 8000km apart, Eden Gardens was a cauldron heaving and throbbing like Wembley was on Sunday. Arsenal were playing the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City but Arsene Wenger baiters here couldn’t care less. As far as they were concerned, Wenger’s time was up. Thank you for the memories.
‘Wenger out’ was also seen at Eden on Friday when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lost to Gujarat Lions, but this was a bigger night, one of the biggest of the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and some Gooners, who had traded watching Ramsey for Robin, Monreal for Mills, Koscielny for Kohli and Giroud for Gambhir couldn’t resist sending a message. After all, IPL 10 is being beamed live in the UK and across the world.
The Sun newspaper wrote on Sunday that ‘Wenger out’ has been seen at the world snooker championships and NBA playoffs. The IPL and Eden has now been added to that list. That was before Arsenal beat City 2-1 in extra time to enter the final.
Sunday is usually a slow day at tube stations. But as afternoon blended into evening, it seemed like Monday’s morning hour rush had been brought forward. The underground was packed and it was obvious where most people were headed. Some were wearing the white bandana with ‘KKR’ emblazoned in purple. There were a few in team shirts but most didn’t let support dictate sartorial choices.
Shirt vendors were doing brisk business, selling fake mer chandise at ~150 each. The flags were going for ~50.
By the time of the scheduled 8pm start, the 67,200-seater amphitheatre was the fullest it has been this year. Such was the roar when the covers came off at 8:04pm that those passing by would have thought the first six had been hit or the first batsman dismissed.
With Chris Gayle, AB de Villi ers and Virat Kohli, RCB are always a big draw. But it is Kohl who is the first among equals.
But the Eden wasn’t divided on Sunday like it was on May 5 2012.
Then, Sourav Ganguly was leading the away team. ‘Dada still lords it over the Eden, but as president of the CAB; and with a stand named after him that glowed in all its brightness.