First step out of Ahmedabad’s central air-conditioned airport, and it felt very hot. As if the sun is sucking energy through a straw pierced in the head.
Scale-wise, very little separates Delhi (where I flew in from), Indore (where I was last time) and Ahmedabad (where I am now), but Ahmedabad struck a chord!
Before the warm welcome, a giant poster of Gujarat Titans stares at you in the arrivals lounge.
“Welcome to the home of Gujarat Titans,” it reads and features sharp pictures of Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia. The trio may not matter much as far as the Border Gavaskar Trophy is concerned, but when he walks out to bat with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, his first name and the first face on the giant billboard will attract a lot of attention. ,
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Rohit is another Indian cricketer who smiles at you with a perfectly installed vertical board from a cement manufacturer. He has clearly mastered the game of advertising ahead of the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia.
As one drives from the airport towards the main city, passing the Gandhi Ashram on the left, more boards, right in the middle of a four-way, greet the Gujarat Titans.
While Gill will be elated to see his face around the city, there will be no dearth of inspiration for the Indian camp as they cross the cantonment area. Gates are found in plenty with the one-line “Jeet Nishchay (certain victory)”, “Sahas aur Samman (Courage and Honour)” before hitting the main city area.
India need to show courage in this very crucial match of the series and that is what they would like to see in order to regain respect for the home crowd. The capitulation in Indore has left fans disappointed and the three-day finale hasn’t pleased cricket fans one iota.
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My cab driver politely asked, “Sir, how long have you been in Ahmedabad?” “Depends on the match sir. Probably at least 5-6 days,” I replied.
“(Laughs) kaunsa match 2-3 din se upar jaa hai sir, ye bhi nahi jaaega. Jitni jaldi ye match khatam kar dete hai use zyaada time to Ahmedabad ghumne mai nikaal hai aaram se (Which match is lasting beyond 2-3 days? Even this won’t. Four days are enough to roam and explore Ahmedabad but sad match won) ‘t last that long),” he takes a not-so-subtle dig at the quick finishes of the Tests.
no discussion
It’s early days but Gulzar was missing from the city. From airport staff to cab drivers, hotel staff and people I met randomly on the street, most of them were clueless about the cricket match and it being a test didn’t excite many.
I reminded him that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Will be in attendance too, but the response remained flat, a word we probably wouldn’t use to describe the nature of the strip for the Fourth Test.
For the locals, seeing the PM is not an exciting affair. For them, it is business as usual as the PM comes once every two-three months.
“It will be exciting for you to see PM Modi ji but he keeps coming here regularly. That’s why we look at attendance a lot,” adds Driver.
T20 hota to…
Staples response, no matter what part of the country you are in. The shortest format takes precedence over Tests and the public still sees Tests as reserved for an exclusive set of viewers.
He said, ‘If it was a T20, there would be so much traffic on the road during the match. But since it is a Test match, it will be normal. Not everyone wants to watch Test matches. That too when they are ending well within three days these days,” says a gentleman waiting for his cab in the designated area near the arrivals hall.
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Both India and Australia will reach Ahmedabad today and both the teams will start practice from tomorrow.
The visitors have a morning session while the hosts practice in the afternoon. The weather forecast says a 50% chance of rain today, 30% tomorrow and 30% the day after tomorrow.
It is hot and a little rain can make it more humid. The average temperature may also see a rise from Saturday onwards but it remains to be seen whether the game can last long enough.
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