There’s something about Eden

What’s it with Eden Gardens? The drama is almost inevitable for the theater not just demands but commands it. Trust me, it's not a retrospective romanticistion. Even as the South Africans were going hammer and tongs, as if they resumed from where they left in Nagpur, the buzz around the ground was unmistakable (that’s with less than half the capacity!). The same buzz which can make or break the home team. You can treat them as the 12th man when you are doing well and a whole gladiatorial crowd waiting for your execution when you are not. There’s no middle ground with the Eden Gardens crowd.

After a real thrashing in the hands of Peterson and Amla in the first 2 sessions, MSD & co came back with a lot more intent. It was Ishant’s short burst which really started it all. Amla not only looked as undismissable as he was in Nagpur but also looked more dangerous for he was scoring them at will and scoring them fast too. It took every ounce of energy from the off-colour Ishant to unsettle the assured Amla with some real good short stuff. Just when he looked to be overdoing the short pitched stuff, Dhoni handed the ball to Zaheer, who completed the job his partner had started – sent Amla packing with a short delivery which he duly edged to Dhoni. And a medley of the crowd, the buzz, the noise, a more penetrative Harbhajan, a moment of brain freeze from the monk and a little brilliance from Laxman on the field gave the most vital breakthrough. Then on…Eden just took over!

On the point that it's not a retrospective romanticisation – I had tweeted Aakash Chopra immediately after the fall of Hashim Amla: “@cricketaakash a tad romantic or is it real? y do I think a b'tng collapse looks more imminent in a stadium buzzin with ppl dan otherwise”. I was very serious when I said this. I really felt a batting collapse was imminent. The atmosphere created that sense. And in less then 10 min, I tweeted him again: “now I am convinced it is real :-)”.

As important as the pitches are, the audience at the stadium also makes it real hard for teams visiting India. But of late, dwindling attendance for tests have worked in visiting teams’ favor – an important challenge (since low turnout is taken for granted) is out of their way even before they step onto the field. Its such an irony that BCCI uses ad slots during a test series enticing people to come to the stadium to watch IPL (which already gets near full houses all the time), when the test itself is being played in a near empty stadium (I mean the Nagpur test). So much for BCCI’s priorities!

And did anyone notice any expression of regret or condolences for the bomb blast in Pune during the match? Not even the token expression of wearing a black arm-band? It’s a shame…