Game on

It is the opening day of the Final of ICC's World Test Championship. We could be doing better than what currently is happening. But then, they've left out Ravichandran Ashwin, Chennai's own lad from the match.

Thinking of better times, like playing a friendly match in a B-School Alumni tournament from a few years ago. This is the IIT-Chemplast Ground inside the IIT Madras. Maybe it is nothing like the Oval; but this is also exciting cricket!

Washout

Was hoping to watch the final of the IPL 2023 here at the Madras Race Club. It is Chennai Super Kings playing, after all.

Torrential rains dashed that hope. No, Chennai is still sweltering under the kathiri sun, but the match was to be played at Ahmedabad. Waited a while, then shelved the plan, had dinner and came back home. 

The match will be played tomorrow, but no thrill of watching it here now. 

 

Waiting to open

In a couple of weeks from today, the gates of the MA Chidambaram Stadium will open for the fifth test of the India-England series. In that time, India could have either won the series already, or it could be that England is looking to square the series, having won the fourth test at Mumbai. 

Either way, there will be a lot of excitement around the test. Chennai has not hosted an international test match in a long time. The last one such played here was almost four years ago, when India played Australia in February 2013; it is about time the next one takes place. 

So, are you going to be watching this match live?

Pitch perfect

Today would have been the last day of the 3rd Ashes test, but as you all know, that was wrapped up a couple of days ago. That's just an excuse for putting up this picture of a cricket pitch. Chennai has several, and this one is inside the IIT Madras, sponsored by Chemplast Sanmar. Chemplast has a long association with cricket, and owns two of the cricket teams playing in the TNCA League - Jolly Rovers and Alwarpet CC - and this ground is where the players practice their stuff.

It is not just those League players, but internationals as well. When the 2011 Cricket World Cup was held in the sub-continent, the IIT-Chemplast Sanmar Ground was the practice ground for the Indian team. The pitch is top-notch and true; it is an absolute pleasure to play on, no matter if you are batsman or a bowler.

It was a wonderful feeling to play at this ground, and to bat on this pitch, a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, the match didn't go too well for my team and I ended up spending a lot more time inside the pavilion; one that was inaugurated in 1998 by the legendary Australian cricketer, Neil Harvey. All said and done, it was wonderful to have been on the same turf as the legend, thinking about others who've also run across this rectangle!

Playful pundits

These kids are all dressed up to be a part of the procession reciting the nalayira divya prabandham at the chariot festival of Sri Narasimha Swamy at Triplicane. Once the procession started, it was difficult to spot these kids - they were lost in the fringes as the older men took over the vanguard of the procession.

While they were waiting, the boys were doing what every Indian boy would do. Discuss cricket. Demonstrating the art of bowling. And maybe reciting the vedas while doing so; that is not unusual, at least not for Triplicane's cricketers!

Cricket, lovely cricket

Today, India start their 5-test series in England. In keeping with that, here is a glimpse into the M.A.Chidambaram stadium at Chepauk, seen as the MRTS train passes it. 

Keeping fingers crossed on the Indian team wresting the Pataudi Trophy back from England!

Stately corner

Time marches on. Once upon a time, this corner building was the place to be seen at. For about 20 years, Hotel d'Angelis was the leading hotel in the city, boasting of running hot water (no, not the type where a boy runs with a bucket), electric fans, cold storage - all of it in the initial years of the 20th century. He also made sure that he pulled out all stops for his guests. Those coming in to Madras by ship or rail could make arrangements to have the 'hotel shuttle' meet them as they disembarked. That motor-bus could also be hired to take them around the city. 

Giacomo d'Angelis, the founder of this hotel, took a very active interest in running it. Despite having a manager ("an expert European manager") to run the hotel, the proprietor personally guaranteed that every need of their guests would be attended to. Such was the reputation they built - and maybe it was also the way the staff had been trained - that even after d'Angelis sold the hotel to Bosotto in 1930, it continued to be the go-to place. When the MCC team under Douglas Jardine visited India for a 3-test series in 1934, they bivouacked at the Hotel d'Angelis - and by all accounts, they had a rocking good time. 

Somehow, the hotel did not continue to keep up with the times. For longer than I can remember, the big signboard on this building had been that of Bata. Recently, that has been removed. Talk is that the building has been marked for demolition. With that, one more reminder of the Madras will disappear. Hopefully, whatever replaces it will preserve the memory of this corner and the Madras that was!

Morning match

So what if we can't get 11 players a side? So what if there is no grass on the playing field? So what if we can't really loft that ball over extra cover? So what if we don't have enough stumps to make wickets at both ends of the pitch?

Cricket on the streets continues to thrive because there is no answer to those questions. Rules are adapted, and sometimes just made up, to account for the nature of the pitch and maybe even the weather. So when there is a 'water hazard' just around where a deep mid-off would be, the rule may be that a shot into that hazard would get just one run. Or maybe half-a-life. It all depends on what the teams agree to.

But this game here is not happening at any old place. This is right beside the Chepauk Palace, kind of within the shadow of the MA Chidambaram Stadium's floodlights. It has been a long time since I've played any kind of cricket - or even watched it seriously - but couldn't help stopping and watching this match for a few minutes!

View from third man

Did you get here because you were frustrated by England grinding India at Kolkata? Now that you got here, do you recognize where 'here' is?

It is not a legendary ground, but I have a lot of memories. Designed more for a football or a hockey match, the 'B' Ground at Loyola College is used for cricket matches of lesser importance. Like the one happening in the picture, which has the Chennai-based alumni of India's best B-Schools - the IIMs and XLRI - play each other annually. 

The average age of players in this tournament would be in the high 40s. But yet, this bunch of players would surely have done better against the Poms!

In your corner

Tucked away inside Turnbull's Road is this small temple. Called the Bala Vinayagar Koil, it is never crowded; visit it a couple of times and the priests will know your name. A couple of visits more and you would be comfortable giving them your horoscope as well. In short, it is throwback to the days when you go to the temple to be part of the community rather than to merely petition the Almighty for a favour or four.

It was therefore a surprise a few months ago when someone told me that there were archanas being performed in this temple for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to win their IPL match. The surprise was magnified when he told me that they were being done on behalf of N. Srinivasan, the owner of CSK. I was amazed that he even knew about this temple, let alone put so much faith on the deity here. 

I believe that CSK is in need of some divine intervention, the way it is playing in the Champions League right now. Maybe someone should do a puja for them here!

Close of play

The picture is a bit old, taken a couple of years ago. That's because I didn't have any other representing the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). The TNCA sends out one of the strongest teams for the Ranji Trophy, the domestic cricket championship. The Tamil Nadu team has been in the Ranji finals 11 times, but they have won it only twice. The first time they did it was in 1954-55; the man who led them to the title, Balu Alaganan, was perhaps the epitome of what a cricket player should be.

The 1954-55 season started with Balu Alaganan scoring a century against Travancore-Cochin. But right after, his form deserted him, to the extent that he offered to step down after the semi finals, believing that the best team should play the finals. His team mates, including CD Gopinath and AG Kripal Singh, and the manager, V. Pattabhiraman insisted that he continue to captain the side. Coming in at No.5 in the first innings, Alaganan scored a duck. He dropped himself down to No.9 in the second and with the last batsman, Murugesh, added 71 for the 10th wicket - a partnership that was key to Madras (as the side was then called) beating Holkar by 46 runs. Alaganan said that Murugesh "...gave me the confidence I needed. "Don't take me for a No.11", he said to me"; ever modest, eager to give credit where it was due.

Many boys and young men of the 1970s would have little recollection of Balu Alaganan as a player, but he did build the love of the game in them through his commentary. (Not to mention the kids' grasp of English and its usage). Sitting next to the radio, 'seeing' the grass and the skies and the fielders through Alaganan's descriptions: that was the way to follow the Chepauk test, even if you were inside the stadium. That voice is no more. Balu Alaganan has gone over to play for a different team, but will stay on the hearts of all cricket lovers!

Many connections

At the very basic level, this bridge connects Blackers Road to Adithanar Salai across the Cooum. Adithanar Salai was earlier known as Harris Road and it would not be out of place to call this one the Harris Bridge; not that it was known as such earlier, but other connects spring from Harris and he has to be introduced sooner than later.

The road was named for George Francis Robert Harris, 3rd Baron Harris, who was the Governor of Madras from 1854 to 1859. If nothing else, his term as Governor saw the massive upheaval of the political landscape after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. Madras was largely untouched by that rebellion (was the quelling of Vellore Mutiny still fresh in memory?) to the extent that Governor Harris sent almost the entire Presidency army out to lift the siege of Cawnpore. He oversaw the transfer of Madras from the British East India Company to Queen Victoria before his tenure as Governor ended in 1859. In the meanwhile, he is also said to have introduced 'Devil's Pepper', which he brought over from his earlier position as the Governor of Trinidad. There is some speculation about this variety going on to become the Bhut Jolokia. 

Compared to that culinary connect, it is a much more straightforward connect between this bridge and Mumbai Schools Cricket. Harris Shield, for the winner of the inter-schools cricket tournament in Mumbai is named after Governor Harris' son, George Robert Canning Harris, the 4th Baron Harris. The 4th went on to chair the meeting which launched the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909; it is tempting to think that Master Robert would have learnt the rudiments of his cricket in Madras!

Chennai Super Kings!

Oh, well, it is just a photo-of-a-photo. The photo was on the wall at the office of ShowSpace, who were managing Chennai Super Kings. It is a picture that dates back almost two years, to the first season of IPL, but hey, I'm off to watch today's match, so enjoy the colours here - if you aren't at the stadium already!

No game on the sands

It is not clear who was inconvenienced by kids - and several adults, too - playing cricket on the sands of the Marina. Apparently many of the walkers were, as were people who had parked their vehicles right next to the sands of the beach. So it was one fine day, a couple of months ago, that the cops began to chase away anyone found with a cricket bat in his hands on the Marina Beach. Many of the regular beach-cricketers were upset and staged protests; by one count, there were about 2,000 poeple protesting against the police action.

To no avail. The ban on cricket stays, and boards like this one, in English and in Tamizh, make sure the message is understood by anyone who wants to put bat to ball on the sands!

If it is Pongal in Chennai...

Well, once upon a long time ago, it used to be "...it must be the Chepauk test!". Though only 9 of the 20 official tests played at the Chepauk from 1934 to 1988 - and none of the 10 tests since - have been held between January 11 and January 18, many believe it is a tradition that Chepauk has 'always' hosted a test match during the second week of January. The weather is good - a nip in the air, cool mornings, bright sunshine, gentle breeze - everything that makes for a glorious day of cricket. And of course, with at least 3 consecutive days - Pongal, Tiruvalluvar Day and Uzhavar Tirunaal (Farmers Day) - usually being declared government holidays, chances of a good 'gate' are pretty high for any event that happens during this time, because the city dwellers would be looking for any kind of entertainment during these days.

That's because Pongal is a festival of the villages, one that celebrates the first harvest of a new season. Beginning on the last day of Margazhi, the festival goes on to the third day of Thai. The first day, Bhogi, is for cleaning up; the second - the actual Thai Pongal - to worship nature, especially the sun; the third, Mattu Pongal, to celebrate the livestock that made the harvest possible. The last day, Kaanum Pongal, is set aside to visit friends and relatives and to exchange the bounties of the harvest. What does the city dweller have to do with many of these? Cleaning up during Bhogi and propitiating the Gods on Pongal day can be done, but the rest? So the city dweller must be entertained, while the villages celebrate.

For the past couple of years, entertainment has been the Chennai Sangamam, a street festival during Pongal, showcasing traditional music, dances and cultural performances. Run by Tamil Maiyam, it has become quite popular in just 3 years of its existence, thanks to the generous support provided by the state government. Hopefully the Sangamam will transcend political divides and continue to be a grand event in the years to come!

A pavilion for modesty?

The pavilion at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk is named after C.P.Johnstone. I am sure he has done great deeds on the cricket field, to have the pavilion named after him, but that can keep for a later post. One of the odd things I remember reading about Mr. Johnstone is that if a team-mate was approaching the half-century or the century mark, he would sit in the pavilion wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. And he would not change until his team-mate either went past the milestone, or got out before doing so.

But what would he do if there was someone closing the day, or even the session, on 49 or 97? Maybe that's why he wanted the whole pavilion to himself!

To next year, and the trophy

I must say I am impressed with my restraint; didn't do a single cricket related post in the first 50 days. It was tough to ignore cricket with the IPL T20 tournament going on for 45 of those 50 days, but I did it! Now that the tournament is over, these guards (!) at Chepauk stadium (the M.A.Chidambaram stadium at Chepauk, more properly) will go away and folks all over India will find something to do between 7 and 11 in the evenings. (Is it likely that the walls around the stadium will stay the Super Kings yellow?)

I took a lot of flak with my predictions; had said that Chennai will beat Deccan Chargers to reach the semi finals, will beat Kings XI Punjab to reach the finals and will then lose to Rajasthan Royals. Strangely, few debated the last part, until yesterday - such unbelievers, to not know that Chennai will reach the finals! And then they accuse me of not supporting my team - hrrumph!!

No, it is too early for next year's predictions. I have no idea which other team will be in the final. But the trophy, it will be brought to Chennai!


PS: If you do not know what the IPL T20 tournament was all about, you are lucky! But if you insist on knowing, here's the Wikipedia entry about cricket.