Crowd cheers as Ashwin rattles Kiwis’ reply on Day 3

The crowd swelled at Indore’s Holkar cricket stadium after the lunch session on Monday as Indian bowlers began to scalp wickets of New Zealand batsmen at regular intervals.

The crowd swelled at Indore’s Holkar cricket stadium after the lunch session on Monday as Indian bowlers began to scalp wickets of New Zealand batsmen at regular intervals.

A cricket fan dressed up as Ravana enjoys the third day of India-New Zealand test match at Holkar stadium in Indore on Monday. (Shankar Mourya/HT Photo)

More than 15,600 cricket lovers turned up at the Holkar stadium on the third day of the India-New Zealand match. While the first day saw around 20,000 spectators rooting for the men in whites, the second day witnessed 22,500 enthusiasts jostling for seats to watch the batting of Team India captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane.

Chants of “Ashwin; Ashwin” and “One more; One more” rented the air every time the right arm off-break bowler scalped wickets. The spinner ended with a figure of 6/81.

“It’s icing on a cake for me. I’m in the city for Dussehra break and decided to catch up with the historic first Test,” said Kamlesh Bundela, an IT professional working in Pune.

“Though I’ve been to the MCA stadium, Pune to watch IPL game, but this was a completely different experience. Initially, I planned to stay for few hours, but I ended up watching the match till the end.”

Vivek Shrivas, a management student staying in Delhi, is clear about his plan. “Being an avid cricket fan, I’ve planned my schedule in such a way that I can be in stadium all five days to witness the test match,” he said.

Ahead of Dussehra, Hitesh Verma came to the stadium dressed up as Ravana. “I’m enjoying cricket here and entertaining others with my get-up,” Hitesh said.

Indore couple names child after Kohli

On Sunday, a couple in Indore named their first child after Kohli who scored a double hundred at Holkar stadium. Pratap Singh Chouhan and his wife Preeti of Goma Ki Phail were expecting the baby between October 9 and 11. “As October 9 (Mahaasthami) is an auspicious day and Virat scored double century here, we decided to name our first child after Kohli,” Pratap said.