Fans hope for a thrilling contest at Green Park
KANPUR : The first Test between India and New Zealand, starting Thursday, at the Green Park Stadium here, is expected to be a big entertainer for the fans as the two teams are loaded with top spinners, including Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja for India and Mitchell Santner for the visiting Black Caps.
With marriage season in full swing, almost all the big and small hotels are full, but the fans from neighbouring districts as well as states like New Delhi have still managed to find a place to stay, at least for the first four days of the Test.
“Red-ball cricket is real cricket, and it entertains a fan like me, who has come all the way from New Delhi to watch the match,” said one Gautam Seth, who bought the season ticket for all the five days.
“If I go through the track record of the matches between the two teams at this venue, I am sure of India winning once again, as they did in 2016, but still I would love to see how Kiwi batters Ross Taylor and skipper Kane Williamson handle the Indian spinners on this slow and low track,” he said.
Undoubtedly, the season tickets (for all five days) are not the hot property as Team India is without its regular skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, but fans were keen on buying daily tickets.
“It’s an opportunity to see a Test match live at this venue after a gap of five years, and this would also be the first match in the post-COVID situation,” said a local businessman Rajesh, adding, “Watching cricket at the historical Green Park Stadium has always been a great entertainment for the Kanpurities.”
The area around the stadium is already full of roadside vendors, selling T-shirts, carrying the names of even Kohli, who will miss this match, face masks, caps and even banners and Indian flags on Wednesday.
“This cricket match has brought business for us,” said a vendor Kishore, who has a target to sell at least 1000 T-shirts during the match days. “During the COVID period, it was tough to survive for all of us, but now this match has generated some hopes for us,” he added.
Extending a helping hand to the hosts Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association is the Kanpur’s district administration, which led by its top officials i.e. Commissioner Raj Shekhar and district magistrate Visakh, have made elaborate arrangements for the successful conduct of the match.
Probably for the first time, the fans would be brought to the stadium through E- rickshaw and would be provided with masks and sanitisers at the entrance. Unlike in the past, the facilities, both for players and the fans, have been upgraded with additional 1200 seats on the top of the newly-built players’ pavilion.
“We have left no stone unturned to make the stadium beautiful and secure for the match. Even during the lockdown, we managed to maintain the greenery of the stadium as well as did other beautification work,” said Mudrika Pathak, deputy director, sports, and in charge of the Green Park Stadium on Wednesday.
The dry and almost bald strip no 5, in the middle of the stadium, promises a lot of runs in the match, but spinners are expected to have the last laugh. Fans are all geared up for the five-day entertainment starting Thursday.