A world of secrets wrapped in shadows. Magnificent monuments of the colonial era live eternal. In his delirium, the city mirage for millions manifests tolerance and solidarity. A planet that never ceases to amaze. Over a billion people live in India and thirteen million alone in Calcutta. Calcutta is the intellectual cradle of India, as well as the largest city of the British Empire after London. It participated with the impetus jolts of history since 1690, the year of its founding by the British East India Company.
The great thing about India is the passion for cricket. Wherever you have open space you will see children having fun playing cricket with a smile on their face. Sometimes they will use a stick for a bat, just so they can play the game. The streets in India provide a springboard for future talent. However in England many schools no longer play cricket, therefore the game is much less accessible than 20 to 30 years ago. This emphasises the amount of passion for the game in India.
Eden Gardens is the oldest stadium of cricket in India. It is located in Calcutta and was built in 1865. Since its founding to the present day name has changed several times until you reach the current one. It has hosted several important matches of cricket including the final of the World Cup Cricket 1987. Due to its importance is considered to be the Lord's of India. Nearly 100,000 cricket fans sit in the stands of 'Eden Gardens when you play at international tournaments.
Eden Gardens was not built only for playing cricket. In March 1836, the ships of the newly-elected Governor General arrived at Chandpal Ghat. Governor General George Eden was accompanied by his two sisters, Fanny and Emily Eden. Their residence was Raj Bhavan. After arriving in Calcutta, Fanny and Emily kept many animals and birds in the palace. After long planning, in 1841 they built a beautiful garden near the Ganges. The garden had a variety of flowers, fruit trees, ponds and seating areas. Although a special feature of this garden was a huge pagoda in the garden. This pagoda was built in parts by ship from Prom in present day Myanmar.
The English used to go for afternoon walks in this lovely garden. To the west of this garden was a band stand, where the musicians of Fort William played every afternoon. It is said that this garden used to be decorated with garlands of lights in the evening. Eden Garden was named after Fanny and Emily Eden.
Eden Gardens, the country's oldest cricket stadium, was built in 1864 with part of the garden and garden-adjacent area. At that time the playground was called Lord Auckland Circus Gardens. The name comes from George Eden's post. Both the garden and the stadium were later known as the Eden Gardens. Today very little of that garden remains. A walk towards the Ganga from the Eden Gardens Stadium gives a glimpse of this garden. There are specific times to enter the garden. Inside the garden are various flowering plants, ponds and seating areas. The Burmese pagoda, the centerpiece of the garden created by Fanny and Emily Eden, still stands at one end of the garden. However, not many people know about the existence of this garden as it is almost hidden from the public eye. Among those who know, very few people visit this garden. On entering the garden, the garden is lost in the pages of history due to its almost covered position behind the stadium.
Similarly, the Eden Gardens is the perfect place to escape the noise and pollution. The garden is well kept and has beautiful fountains and a Burmese pagoda.
The pearl of the Gulf of Bengal, the city of poets like Tagore Rabindranath and scientists, is surrounded by one of the most fertile regions of India. The climate seems to be the master of the city and the countryside that surrounds it. The Maidan, a word which in Hindi means open space, ventilated green encompasses the Victoria Memorial, Fort William, the St. Paul's Cathedral and the Eden Garden.
And the beautiful face, old and oozing with history.
The second largest cricket stadium in India and the third largest in the world comes to mind when we hear the name. This stadium has witnessed many extraordinary matches. Although Eden Gardens is not just a stadium, many people do not know this fact. Adjacent to the stadium is the real garden or garden that remains hidden from the eyes of the sports enthusiasts. Along with it lies the long history of Eden Gardens. Our beloved Eden Gardens has witnessed various exciting cricketing moments from the history of the garden.The magnificent Cricket stadium is awesome in size and on any given day can accommodate spectators in excess of 100,000 making it one of the biggest cricket stadiums in the world. The vast crowds and their passion for the game is what strikes the most every time you watch a cricket series here. It's not merely a question of players being unable to hear each other, but the atmosphere can be plain intimidating for the visiting side.
In any International cricket game here, first comes the wave of a lakh Indians leaping to their feet, raising their arms to the heavens and shouting in unison. And in day-nighters the shower of fire-crackers and flares in the stands and on the fields in the middle of the game or more precisely throughout the entire game just electrifies the entire atmosphere rolling up newspapers, setting them ablaze and holding them torch like above their heads lightens everyone spectators euphoric cheering hearts.
Eden Garden has a history of its own. The crowd can be sometimes fanatic but also be respectful to those who deserve. The picturesque environs of Eden Gardens, reminiscent of English cricket grounds 30 years ago, blends marvelously with the mellow December sun that heralds a typical Calcutta winter morning. Its a stage setting where the Indian cricket matches that can go on for hours and hours.
'Suna Kya'? Question by the bowler. To whom the question is addressed, the batsman has just been beaten outside the offstump. Now a days, if you see the bowler moving forward, it seems that sledging has started!
Here the bowler is asking the batsman to listen to something. But what? The batsman is again an icon — Sunil Gavaskar. Only one person could have appeared in front of him with such a strange request while batting. He was the bowler that day in the domestic cricket match - BS Chandrasekhar. Should say Mukesh-devotee Chandrasekhar. Chandra requests Gavaskar to listen to the song 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hai' coming from afar!
'Suna Kya'? This time Sunny's ears are also alert. The mental connection has been squeezed out. Both batsman and bowler are humming. Who will say that day they are opponents! At that time, cricket was not just a game, it was a meeting place for many emotions! Along with the rivalry was mutual respect. For example, Arthur Mailley's comments have entered the eternal archive of cricket.
Mailly was not only a famous legspin-googly bowler, but also a great writer on cricket, a great 'caricaturist'. Victor Trumper was his favorite cricketer. Miley out Trumper in the domestic match of Australia. "The ball was a bit too good for me," said the batsman on his way out. To hear such a compliment from Trumper's mouth at that time was tantamount to earning any bowler the title of 'knight'. But Mailly later wrote, "There was no celebratory joy in taking this wicket." Instead, I felt like a boy who had just killed a bird!
During Chandrasekhar's time, the transistor became a means of creating spiritual connection with the stars. Audiences used to play popular filmi songs from the gallery, understanding the favorite cricketer's hobby. Chandra bala kharan means that Mukesh's song will definitely be caught by turning the radio station. A famous romantic song from a Sharmila Tagore film could be heard again while his captain Tiger Pataudi was batting. 'Wada Karo Nahi Chorogi Tum Mera Sath/ Jahan Tum Ho, Wahan May Bhi Hoon...'
Gavakar became the biggest fan of Chandra's 'Mukesh Collection'. Sometimes Sunny did not forget to give Gurudakshina. In a match, the opposing pair may have stood. Nothing can be broken. Gaoskar used to hum and sing Mukesh's songs while walking beside Chandra. In many cases, the bowler was motivated to pick up wickets. In Pataudi's team, the proverb was created, if the magic of Chandra's hand does not produce wickets, bring Mukesh's voice. The fortress must be captured!
The transistor's role was not limited to powering the moon, however. Australia's famous wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh (that keeper of Cott Marsh Bold Lily fame) started playing cricket after receiving a special gift from his father. What is that gift? The parents' room had the only radio in the house. Marsh was rewarded with live coverage of a one-day Ashes match there. On that day the dream was born in his mind, "One day I have to play Tests for Australia." There are many others like Rod Marsh. Virat Kohli's current head coach Ravi Shastri had the dawn of cricket when he heard Gundappa Vishwanath batting on the radio.
The image of player-spectator emotional bond that used to be seen on the field is now a thing of the past. The cricketers used to entertain the audience in the Test which was leading to a draw. Ken Barrington was the master. He stopped playing at Eden once to catch a kite. The former England star returned to fielding after catching a kite that had carelessly slipped out of a spectator's hand and returned it to him. In Pune, a spectator barged into the field to present sunglasses to Barrington. Barrington fielded with those sunglasses all day to show respect to the fans. It is heard that he left a scar in the hearts of the audience by performing in a circus manner in front of the gallery at the High Court end of Eden.
Once upon a time in Eden, winter cricket meant a picnic mood with oranges, sandwiches and bananas. Girls were seen knitting sweaters with wool-spindles. Spectators 'watch' cricket now, then enjoyed it. Such was the addiction with the stars of that time. Adults are still mesmerized by Rohan Kanhai's falling sweep shots. It was said that Kanhai's shot proved gravity wrong.
Or the terrifyingly-handsome Graham McKenzie. Eden's 1969 breather was stopped by picking up two wickets for nil. And after that Uday Bentekhato of a teenager. Square cut Mackenzie to the point boundary who would start the counter attack. Welcome Gundappa Vishwanath! Who scored only 54 runs that day. But Rohan Bholalal remains as immortal as Kanhai's 256!
How many more jewels! Incredible effort by Gary Sobers running back over thirty yards to catch Budhi Kundran! Even after all these years, cricket lovers are fascinated by a dropped catch. That was another cricket, another time.
Ever since a banana peel flew at Gawskar and his wife on Mohammed Azharuddin's Test debut, the picnic at Eden was locked forever. Now every field in India has an invisible barbed wire between the gallery and the field as if 'Line of Control' has been created. At times, Kohli can be seen waving at the audience and trying to maintain connection. What is said in that gesture, there is not much room for the bond of the heart. Who will say that Salim Durrani, Chandu Bordera received gold gifts from the audience at Howrah station as a reward for winning a match! Neshatur autograph collection or where? The fan's star worship is now only decorated with the flowers of the mobile device. The autograph books that used to be seen with fans like stamp collecting are now as extinct as transistors.
Not having a gap between the cricketer and the spectators in all the fields would not have been a very pleasant experience, of course. Gavaskar was batting once at Sabina Park. In the eighties, Sabina Park was a nightmare for any batsman. Holding gave four bouncers in succession. Gavaskar realizes that Holding is taking him on the backfoot. After that, he float the ball to entice to play with the front foot.
Gavaskar raises the bat. Holding gave the fifth ball just like that. Gavaskar raised his bat and let go. Immediately, one of the spectators shouted, "O Mikey (Michael Holding was fondly called by Caribbean cricket fans), O Mikey!" Give him a bouncer 'maan'!" The batsman could clearly hear him. True 'Maan' Gavaskar is also not a quitter. He turned to the spectator and said, "Hey, what was the previous four balls of your Mikey?" In today's match, such dialogue between the spectator and the cricketer would not be possible even in a fictional story.
Thinking back now, it may seem fictional that after winning the Test at the Oval in 1971, the Indian diaspora celebrated with an elephant parade. The elephant was brought under special management from Chessington. And at Marine Drive in Mumbai, everyone started honking their car horns. Going back further one can find another role of the elephant in Indian cricket. When kings and queens played.
Elephants were released above twenty-two yards to 'roll' the pitch. Earlier there was a 'rest day' in Test matches. Which would have made the relationship between cricketers and fans more intense. Courtney Walsh came to Kolkata two years ago and said that when they came to play, the kind of crowd that was waiting in front of the Grand Hotel was never seen anywhere else. The cricketers used to open the window of the house to see the crowd. The number of fans would have increased on 'rest days', as the day off from the game meant that autograph hopes were high on that day.
However, 'rest day' did not mean the same to all cricketers. West Indies spinner Clyde Butts got married on 'Rest Day'. Couldn't get up in such a busy schedule! Former England spinner John Embury once said, 'A rest day is no rest at all to some people.'' England came to play Jubilee Test at Wankhede in 1980. Which is famous as Botham's test. Botham took six wickets in the first innings. After that England went down to bat and became 58-5.
From there alone he saved the team by scoring 114 runs. After that he decided to celebrate. Unfortunately for Derek Underwood, he was Botham's roommate on that tour. And even worse, a well-known cricket writer for an English newspaper chose the sudden trip to India to write Underwood's autobiography. Botham placed the two on a table in Mumbai's Taj Hotel with tandoori chicken in one hand and brandy in the other. It will be successful for two people! The operation went on for the whole night so that the next day the journalist could no longer go to Wankhede.
Botham? where is he What is the status of the match? The journalist is trying to find out about the time. He opened the TV and saw that the Indian team of Gaoskar, Viswanath, Bengasarkar, Patil, Kapil was all out for 159 in the second innings. England is about to win. An English bowler took seven wickets with 48 runs in 26 overs. Who is he? The journalist narrowed his eyes. Ian Botham! How did the man bowl 26 overs after screaming all night?
The question arises, where were Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holdings lagging behind in fitness even if there is no modern training process or hours in the gym? Or Botham himself? Batting and bowling were gems, and botham took incredible catches in the slip! How did Michael Holding run like a deer without spending time in the gym? How did you say so loudly? The late Bob Ullmer's book contains an excellent description of the holding game. Ulmer writes, "The first ball hit my pad. In those days I wore the most modern pads. Nothing is supposed to be known after a fast bowler hits the leg. After hitting the holding ball, I realized how wrong I was. It seemed as if someone had shot him in the leg. I can't even move. The umpire was Dickie Bird. Who did not give out much lbw. But I knew, in this case, Dickie would raise his finger without thinking. If that's not LBW, what is!''
And the quality of cricket? Batting bare-headed in front of Roberts, Holding, Marshall, Garner at Sabina Park in the eighties was like walking into the tiger's cage with just a stick in hand. Where are the batsmen of this era to take all those risks? Former New Zealand cricketer Jeremy Cooney told a great story. Kony broke his hand at the start of batting at Sabina Park. That's not a big deal, because a game at Sabina Park would have meant two or three nearby hospitals were on red alert. Koni was also taken to a nearby hospital. A teenager came to look after him there.
The doctor has seen Kishore said, I will take your autograph when I recover. No one agrees. This time the teenager brought the autograph book and showed it. It already has a lot of signatures. Most of them are famous batsmen. No one is impressed. So many boys work all day and night in the hospital and go to the field to watch the game! Collecting autographs! Really intoxicating cricket! Curious, how do you find time to go to the field in so much work? "I can't go anywhere sir," was the boy's nonchalant reply. In fact, all of them have visited our hospital in the last two or three years. Then I took the autograph. I will take yours too!
Fidel Castro was also chased by the fire of Caribbean cricket. Castro visited Barbados in 1998. He was 71 at that time. Penn's Bay, not far from Bridgetown, will unveil a memorial to those who died in the bombing of the Air Cubana flight 22 years ago. On the way, he suddenly saw who was playing with the bat-ball. The convoy had to be turned quickly in that direction. Castro wants to play. The Prime Minister of Barbados said to Wayne Arthur, "Bowling!" There too, the Prime Minister of Barbados welcomed the guests with bouncers. Castro had experience playing baseball. But the bouncer never fell in front of the rain. He said, "What's going on?" Give the ball at chest height.'' As Arthur kept his request, he blasted the next ball outside the boundary! Always that Fidel Castro! Play, but on your own terms!
There is an uproar in the cricket world about whether Test cricket will be saved or not. Nothing new though. Such a storm arose in 1906 as well. When there was no crowd in England to watch the Ashes. The oval is empty. Old Trafford is empty. The Observer wrote in a special editorial column at the time, that cricket needed radical reform. The MCC called an emergency meeting, changed the number of balls per over, and even proposed giving up the toss. W. G. Grace suggested in 1906 that the County Championship should be divided into two divisions. After a century, international cricket is now being divided into two divisions.
A new proposal to make Test cricket four-day is also jumping as one side is doomed. The fact is that there was a four-day test earlier. There have been more five-day Tests in the history of cricket. Close to two thousand. There have been 133 four-day Tests. The number of three-day Tests is also not less - 121. There have also been many six-day Tests, where there was a 'rest day'. At one time there was a 'timeless' test. Until the decision is made, play.
A total of 100 tests were found, with no time limits. Len Hutton's memorable 364 at The Oval in 1938 was a 'timeless' Test. How many balls did Hutton play? 847! Don Bradman has also played many 'timeless' Tests. If Don could have scored three hundreds in one day in Test cricket, that is another matter. In 1939, the Test between England and South Africa in Durban, South Africa had to be stopped after more than ten days. What is the reason? No, the England team has to catch the ship. And if you play, the ship will leave.
Cricket has transitioned from ships to planes. Earlier two people had to share a room, now cricketers get a single room each. Two teenagers used to share a bed in a similar dormitory on Mount Road in Chennai. A man was afraid of ghosts at night. Another would get up in the middle of the night and walk around the house. Their marriage is not supposed to happen. However, the honeymoon lasted from the age of fifteen until the mid-thirties. They became the best opening pair in the history of ODI cricket. Saurabh Gangopadhyay is a teenager who is afraid of ghosts. The boy who walks in the middle of the night, Sachin Tendulkar. And did they go up to Mount Road in Chennai with the dream of becoming a fast bowler under Dennis Lillee!
Cricket has evolved. Revolution also happened. The biggest revolution was made by Kerry Packer. Angered by not getting a television contract from the Australian Cricket Board, Packer launched the World Series Cricket by signing star cricketers from all countries for huge sums of money. It is through his hands that the novelty of night lights, colorful clothes and helmets came to cricket. Handing a helmet to a batsman, Packer said, "Spectators come to the field to watch you bat, not to go to the hospital after being hit by a bouncer. wear a helmet The game is for the spectators.'' His cricket was then named 'Packer Circus'. Later that became the novelty. Before Packer's World Series Cricket, cricketers from countries like England were getting £210 per Test. After the introduction of cricket in the World Series, it rose to £1,000 overnight.
Packer thought how long ago, in 1977! And another person was able to catch him before. In the 1971 Ashes, the third Test was washed out in rain after an upset draw in Brisbane, Perth. The first two days of the fourth Test in Melbourne were also marred by rain. The Australian Cricket Board has lost £25,000. When not a ball was bowled on the third day, a gentleman associated with Australian cricket came up the stairs of the press box in Melbourne and announced to the reporters, "This Test is also heading for abandonment." Considering the audience, we have thought of making a one-day match between the two teams." Officially, that was the first one-day match. Who could have thought then, one day this one day cricket will become a golden swan!
46,000 people came to Melbourne to watch that one day match. The gathering that was not seen in the entire series. And the gentleman who came up the stairs to the press box at Melbourne Stadium? Little played cricket - Sir Don Bradman! The 'One Day Baby' born out of nowhere by one of Test cricket's greatest legends quickly became an integral part of the cricket schedule. The next year, in 1971, when the Australian team visited England, the sixth Test was not held. Three ODI matches took place in his place. 1975 was the first World Cup. Bill Lawrie, the captain of the first recognized one-day match, which was suddenly organized in Melbourne, later said, "I think Bradman thought of doing the one-day match, just to make money." He understood that very well!
The brilliant packer has changed the language of cricket. The shrewd Don Bradman was not slow to realize the call of time. Evolution will continue. Cricket will continue. DJ will rule the IPL era. Rare talents like Holding, Botham, may have fallen. The batsman's death knell no longer rings at Sabina Park. Today, cricket-romance is hit by the shock of trade. Cricket will continue. Mukesh's songs will no longer come from the gallery's transistors. The call of the lost song, 'Hum Us Desh Ke Vasi Hai, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hai'!
