Indian flavour rocks on

The atmosphere at the AMI Stadium was so charged up even with 16,625 in the stands that it's hard to imagine what it will be like when the Wellington Hurricanes roll into town to take on the Canterbury Hurricanes in a rugby match, reports Anand Vasu.

The Indian public has had much to be happy for in the manner in which grounds have improved over the last year, especially since the introduction of the Indian Premier League, but you have to go to a Twenty20 match outside the country to realise just what those marketing men are bleating about.

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The atmosphere at the AMI Stadium was so charged up even with 16,625 in the stands that it's hard to imagine what it will be like when the Wellington Hurricanes roll into town to take on the Canterbury Hurricanes in a rugby match.

For those who made the trip to the Twenty20 match though, it was an evening of fun, the kind that makes the trip worth it even if your team loses.

There are no pot-bellied constables rudely frisking you as you enter, there's more variety in food than the average Indian food-court and the beer flows uninterrupted. What's more, everything is priced so that the average family can take in the experience without having to make it a once-in-a-season experience.

Bollywood numbers from Rab ne bana di jodi and Rock On blared in the background and advertising hoardings ranging from Chaini to Ultratech Cement and Servo encircled the field. The number of Indian flags present ensured that the Black Caps uniform of the same colour was pushed to the background in a sea of saffron, white and green.

In one crucial manner, though, this was not at all like a home game. Even after India had lost, and suffered the merciless yet good-natured leg-pulling of the Kiwi fans, there was no animosity. With 24 sixes the public had got their money's worth and went home happy.