The new Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium is a spectacle even if it is a touch far from civilisation. The administrators built a deep moat to keep fans away from the boundary ropes.
The new Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium is a spectacle even if it is a touch far from civilisation. The administrators built a deep moat to keep fans away from the boundary ropes.
Unfortunately, the plan didn't work to perfection. During the India-Australia Test last year, some fans from one of the stands managed to cross the moat and get on to the ground. To make sure that is not repeated in today's one-dayer, they have now put up barbed wires all along the inside walls of the moat. And since the wires are sharp, you can bet on fans keeping their distance from the ground.
*****
It's always great to look ahead especially in a country likeu00a0 ours. But when it's looking this far ahead, then something is surely wrong. The new Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium is in Jamtha on the outskirts of the Orange City and the road leading to the stadium is one of the longest national highways in the country. NH 7 that runs from Varanasi to Kanyakumari, goes through six states and is measured at around 2400 kms. On the way to the stadium from Nagpur, there are milestones showing how far Kanyakumari is.
For the record, it's around 1290 kms from Nagpur. On the way back too, one can see milestones for Varanasi (around 750).
*****
Either it was an attempt to show that India is not concerned about Australia's injury problems or MS Dhoni does not believe that Australia has so many injury worries. When he was asked whether India has the advantage, Dhoni said: "We are concentrating on areas that can affect us in a direct way. I am not really worried about that. They have a squad of 15."
ADVERTISEMENT