A little more than a half a km away from the 22 yards of the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium, watching the action from a bird's eye view atop a hill was Sudhir Kumar Gautam, Indian cricket’s "superfan".
With the match being played behind closed doors because of the surge of Covid-19 cases in Pune, there wasn’t any special access for Sudhir, who is otherwise a constant presence at the grounds for India games.
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The thin man from Bihar, with the India colours and the word "Tendulkar" painted on his bare torso, decided to watch the game from the nearby hills anyway. From the stadium, Sudhir's oversized India flag could be seen fluttering.
Earlier in the year, when England played Sri Lanka in a Test in Galle behind closed doors, an English fan, Rob Lewis, did something similar. Stranded in Sri Lanka for over 10 months due to the pandemic, Lewis, a web designer, climbed the ramparts of the nearby Galle Fort to watch the match and support England.
England captain Joe Root hit a double century in that match and after raising his bat to the dressing room, he turned and raised it at the lone figure standing atop the fort. Lewis, who also used the opportunity to raise money for an NGO caring for stray dogs, also got a call from the England captain later.
{{/usCountry}}England captain Joe Root hit a double century in that match and after raising his bat to the dressing room, he turned and raised it at the lone figure standing atop the fort. Lewis, who also used the opportunity to raise money for an NGO caring for stray dogs, also got a call from the England captain later.
{{/usCountry}}Sudhir, a self-confessed Tendulkar fan, has been following the Indian team even after his icon’s retirement and was there for the T20 series in Ahmedabad, before moving to Raipur where Tendulkar was playing in a veteran's series. Now he's found his spot in Pune; entry or no entry, Sudhir will watch his games live.