Page from the diary of a travelling cricket fan

Actor and cricket buff Rahul Bose, who has been to four out of the eight Indian venues for the ongoing World Cup, on some of the highs and lows so far

Actor Rahul Bose knows better than most what it means to breathe cricket.

He's been to Nagpur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad to catch the World Cup matches live, and spent the better part of Wednesday inside the Punjab Cricket Association in Mohali to watch one of the most eagerly anticipated match-ups in recent cricket history.


Rahul Bose

"No matter who makes it, I will be there to catch the finals," said Rahul, over the phone during half-time, about the semi-final clash between India and Pakistan.

Preity Zinta, Anusha Dandekar, Suniel Shetty, Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao and Sidharth Mallya were among the celebrities present at the match. "I met Sidhartha in Bangalore and Nagpur, and we were sitting together for a while during the match. He is very knowledgeable about the game," says Rahul.

Celebrities aren't the only people Rahul, who chooses to sit in the open stands, has been rubbing shoulders with. "I bumped into some people sitting in the same stand as me, who said that they saw me in Ahmedabad, and another group who told me that they saw me in Nagpur."

Despite the elaborate security arrangements, given that the prime minister and other key political leaders were expected to attend last afternoon's match, Rahul says that getting through the security check was smooth.
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"The staff were efficient and the procedure wasn't invasive at all. We were even allowed to take our mobile phones inside."

Rahul's experience getting to the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad was far less pleasant. "I was stuck in traffic for two and a half hours to drive a three-kilometre stretch," he said, adding, "Mohali is the best-planned stadium."

Describing the energy at the stadium as "stupendous", Rahul admits that while "being a travelling cricket fan is expensive, it's all worth it for something as big as a World Cup in your country!" After the victory over Pakistan, we're sure not too many Team India fans are likely to disagree.