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Cricket fans win the day but India fail to steal South Africa’s thunder in Lucknow ODI
The excitement of fans was such that they lined up outside the stadium hours before the start of the Lucknow ODI, holding the Indian tricolour and sporting Team India t-shirts.
Enthusiastic cricket fans were the clear victors as they braved the vagaries of the weather while a ‘second-string’ Team India suffered early setbacks but then rebounded to put up a spirited challenge only to lose the rain-hit first ODI by 9 runs to South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday.
Hours earlier, as the ODI began, the Rohit Sharma-led T20 side had already left for Australia to play the World Cup.
Still, the fans chose to turn up in good numbers, their passion for the game not dulled by the fact that the match started late after being reduced to 40 overs for a side due to a wet outfield.
The pitch covers were removed at least 10 times since morning. Stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan chose to field first after winning the toss. As many as five sixes and 21 boundaries in South Africa’s innings and four dropped catches helped Temba Bavuma and Co post 249/4 in 40 overs.
In reply, Team India were left reeling at 8/2 in 5.1 overs due to fine bowling by the Proteas but the hosts batted enterprisingly later to reach 240/8. The effort was not enough and the visitors took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Now, the two sides meet in the second ODI at Ranchi on Sunday.
The excitement of fans was such that they lined-up outside the stadium hours before the start of the Lucknow ODI, holding the Indian tricolour and sporting Team India t-shirts.
As fans repeatedly chanted the slogan “Jitega bhai jitega, India jitega” (India will surely win), Bollywood numbers played by the DJ at the media-end enlivened the atmosphere.
It could have been a full-house even though the match was delayed by more than two hours. But tight security denied many fans entry into the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium as all the roads leading to the stadium had restrictions.
Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 86, which came off 63 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes, gave the fans a glimmer of hope, but it turned out to be the Proteas’ day at the end.
Shreyas Iyer (50, 37b, 3x4) and Shardul Thakur (33, 31b, 5x4) were the other notable contributors for India.
Pacer Lungi Ngidi (3/52) was the pick of the South Africa bowlers with Kagiso Rabada taking 2/36. Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi shared three wickets among them.
