Nagpur Nuggets

In our personality-crazy country, not often do cricket lovers dwell on the health of the game.

In our personality-crazy country, not often do cricket lovers dwell on the health of the game. But at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium yesterday, one man did just that. He had a huge banner hanging around his neck that said 'Save the country from cricket epidemic'.

Jhagdau00a0at Jamtha! Amit Mishra (left) and Praveen Kumar argue with photographers during India's second one-dayer against Australia at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur yesterday. Tempers soared during the innings break when Virat Kohli was hitting the ball so hard that not just the lensmen, but spectators in the stands too bore the brunt of it. pic/suresh kk

What was even more surprising was that the guy was freely roaming around without any worry of being yelled at or, worse, manhandled. After all, the stands were packed with cricket lovers.

Give it a dry!
Dew was always going to be a problem in yesterday's day-night game and the team bowling second would have had a huge problem keeping the ball dry. Usually, bowlers keep towels with them so that they can dry the ball before every delivery.

But yesterday, the Indians were not willing to take any chances. Just as the team was getting ready to take the field after the break, 12th man Virat Kohli walked out and handed everyone a napkin to keep the ball dry.

Missing Brett
Officials here came up with a unique way to let the fans express themselves. In between deliveries, the giant screen at the ground displayed text messages sent by fans from all over the country. Some of those messages were amusing. One of them said, 'I miss you Brett Lee. Please come out once.'

The fan's wish probably remained unfulfilled, as Lee, who was out with a sore elbow, did not show up on the ground once the match started.

Lee, who damaged his shoulder during the recent Champions League Twenty20, is unlikely to be available for Saturday's third ODI in New Delhi as well.

Glass class
The VCA Stadium's first tier has the press box and the corporate boxes at one end of the pitch with huge glass panes all along. When big hitters are playing, like they were yesterday, there's always a chance that the ball might crash into enclosed room.u00a0 Apparently, the panes are made of solid glass and will never break.

For the record, the only batsman so far to hit one of those panes is Praveen Kumar while taking throw-downs near the boundary during UP's Ranji Trophy semi-final against Tamil Nadu.