Fans had a blast in Motera, now awaits Mohali cricket stadium

All roads in Ahmedabad were leading to one place on Thursday, the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera that witnessed a fierce quarter- final battle between India and Australia.

With colourful turbans and tricolours in their hands, people of all ages and sections of society marched their way into the venue to watch another episode in one of the most talked- about rivalries in recent times. There were thousands of people on the streets and the cops had a difficult time controlling the traffic in sweltering heat. In fact, even the Indian team bus was made to wait for some time outside the venue with a big crowd around the main gate of the stadium.

“ We expected India to play either Pakistan or Australia here and we have got the best match of the World Cup so far,” said a college student who had come along with his friends to watch the match. “ We want to see an Indian victory here and a special knock from Tendulkar will be icing on the cake,” he added.

Everybody looked in festive mood with a possible 100th international century for Sachin Tendulkar being the talk of the town. While those with tickets looked to be the most satisfied lot on earth, there were those as well who hung around the stadium in hope of getting one from somewhere at the last moment.

There was a lot of activity in the stadium with a huge 15- feet bat being the cynosure of all eyes. It had messages from the fans, wishing luck to the home team. However, it took just a few minutes for the crowd to settle down in the 48,000- capacity Motera stadium with more than an hour left for the first ball of the match to be bowled. The stand at the pavilion end almost turned blue like the sea with Indian fans choosing to be in that colour to support their team.

The vociferous crowd ensured that every Australian wicket was well cheered but the loudest cheer came when Tendulkar came in to bowl the 30th over. It is rarely that Tendulkar is seen bowling these days and his last over in international cricket came 14 matches back. While it was easy to figure out which team the crowd was supporting, it still applauded Ricky Ponting’s 30th ODI century.