Team India?s honeymoon in England ended in a nightmare and what followed was a vengeance when England toured India in October this year. It was a perfect redemption against a humiliation which India suffered in Great Britain just a month back. But Cricket fanatics, media and sports lovers all around the globe witnessed one thing that had never happened before. It was empty stands for One Day Internationals played in India. India- England ODI series was poorly attended by the spectators at all venues around India raising questions about the future of ODI Cricket and also about Cricket in general.
At the same time Indian Grand Prix a Formula One Racing event was organized for the first time in India on 30th?October at Buddh International Circuit in Noida. It was a block buster event with around 95000 people attending the race. Just five days prior this event i.e. on 25th?of October, the final ODI was played between India and England at Kolkata and it attracted only ten to twelve thousand people. The ground capacity of Eden Gardens was close to 65000. The empty Eden Gardens is probably the worst ever sight for a cricket viewer as this ground has a history of holding 100 thousand odd people even for Test Matches. Eden Gardens were relayed during the world cup and the capacity was reduced from l, 20,000 to 65000.
After the England series few cricket pundits put forward their analysis regarding low-turnouts. Some wrote about Cricket Overdose, some mentioned about lack of superstars like Sachin, Sehwag and Yuvraj, some spoke about high ticket prices, some even cited the festive season of Diwali as the reason for low turn outs. For me apart from these reasons other main reason was repetition of the same opponent against whom Team India played 5 ODI?s just a month back. Other main reason was the time gap between Nokia Champions League final and the 1st?ODI against England was merely four days. Also all the matches were played in metros and big cities which hosted IPL matches just few months back.??So the viewers who were engrossed in the T20 extravaganza took time to get adjusted to the traditional fifty overs Cricket.
Even though India humiliated England ?5-0? in the home series but the question haunting cricket lovers in India was the low turnouts during ODI?s in the country where Cricket is considered as a religion. In this back drop BCCI announced the itinerary of the West Indies series which consisted of 3 Tests and 5 ODI?s. Test Series started just after 9 days of the England series and first two Tests in Delhi and Kolkata witnessed low turnouts. But since it was a Test Series and the opponents was West Indies it was probably expected. India won first two tests and the series and the final test in Mumbai was virtually a dead rubber. MCA i.e Mumbai Cricket Association made a good move and slashing ticket rates considerably and permitting free entry for school students inside the stadium.
But what got the crowds back to the stadium was the expectation of Sachin?s 100thhundred. A record which cricket fans of Mumbai wanted their God to score in his home ground and they wanted to witness history in front of their eyes. Crowds started filling Wankhede since third day when India started batting and the crowd continued to fill the stadium till the final day when the Test ended in a last ball draw.??Trend continued during the ODI series and all the five matches of the one day series were house-full. Sehwag?s world record in the fourth ODI when he made 219 runs also gave this series historical importance. Also the venues for this series were small cities like Indore, Vizag and Cuttack which helped BCCI as people from these areas are starved of Cricket.
So, the West Indies Series which many feared would be one of the worst attended series turned out to be a super hit extravaganza and the crowds were back in large numbers to support their Team India. Also for television viewers, it?s very depressing to see empty stadiums in the background when they are watching Live cricket on TV.??They can easily lose interest in the match and start playing with their remote and surf for other means of entertainment. Finally West Indies series also emphasized that England Series was just a bad dream and Cricket still for sure holds the ?Numero Uno? status in India when you talk about Sports and Entertainment.