The tour is off. Understandably the England players have put their foot down in Bhubaneswar and are all set to fly back to their homes. Over to K.C. Vijaya kumar.
November 23: There is dampness around and the ground-staff at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium are looking at the sky, hoping that the clouds would drift away. However, there is no escaping the rains as the fourth ODI is split into three parts with Virender Sehwag’s blazing bat being a strong adhesive. India wins again and pockets the series.
The loss of play for five hours leaves the press box in a state of anxiety. Tea is sipped as discussions centre around a long night and a tighter deadline. The scribes from England meanwhile tuck into their bestsellers with an air of nonchalance. Their home time-zone is five and half hours behind the Indian Standard Time and that means their deadlines are strands of silk unlike our razor’s edge!
S. Sreesanth slips into the adjacent corporate box and fans scurry around for autographs and snaps on their mobile phones. He leaves quickly after getting his share of flash bulbs and bright light after being in the news for the wrong reasons recently.
November 24: The teams fly to Bhubaneshwar ahead of the fifth ODI at Cuttack. A call to a member of the Indian team’s entourage evokes a quick answer: “hectic schedule, tired.”
November 25: The Barabati Stadium at Cuttack is a beehive for all kinds of sports associations ranging from basketball to football, but the pick was the presence of a school in the first floor atop its main lobby. Out in the centre, there is a mix of white and khaki as cranes glide in and policemen do their security drills.
The England team stays away from practice. A clichéd question pops up — are the players licking their wounds or resting their limbs? Owais Shah says: “If we don’t bat and bowl for a day, doesn’t mean that we will forget.” M. S. Dhoni makes light of the issue about the England team’s absence on match eve. “Sometimes it is better to rest than play,” Dhoni says.
Someone asks about Duckworth-Lewis, Dhoni says: “Sir please don’t ask me about Duckworth-Lewis. I don’t understand and I rely on the umpire.”
November 26: India wins under lights and questions of a ‘white-wash’ surface. “Yes we can beat them 7-0,” says Harbhajan. A scribe tells him, “Sourav Ganguly in his column said that you should take rest!” Harbhajan smiles and says: “I will talk to Sourav.”
Pietersen talks about team morale being good. “Ours is a tight unit and there are no cliques,” he says. An sms beeps through — terrorists strike in Mumbai. Phone lines buzz. A long ride to Bhubaneshwar in a rickety auto-rickshaw ensues past midnight and as tired hacks troop into their hotel rooms, the urge to catch the news on television is much more than the need to sleep. Will the crisis end? Will the series continue?
November 27: The early morning wake-up call is followed by the dash to the airport. Images of the tragic chaos in Mumbai flicker on the television screens. Ravi Shastri on way to Kolkata cranes his neck and watches the mayhem in his hometown.
The scribes scramble for clues. “Sir, will the tour go on?” Sunil Gavaskar turns around and says, “I am not sure.” He points to an official from Nimbus, the official telecaster. Again the same query and the reply is couched in official jargon. “It is on until there is an official word.”
On the flight to Guwahati, the sighting of Mount Everest and Brahmaputra blur in the mind as questions about the tour whirr. Landing at Guwahati, the news hits like a ton of bricks. The tour is off. Understandably the England players have put their foot down in Bhubaneshwar and are all set to fly back to their homes. After frantic calls to piece the story from Bhubaneswar, it sinks in, the tour is over. India has won 5-0. Time to go home.
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