Last weekend the 1st Sri Lanka vs. India Cricket Match was held at the Galle International Cricket Ground so it seemed rude not to go. Things weren't as easy as they seemed, however. Not having Ticketmaster here, getting tickets proved interesting. The best I could do was to get a colleague to phone a friend who, in turn, knew one of the security guards at the ground, to tell me when the tickets went on sale. Can you believe that they weren't available until the day before the match started?! I pitied all the Indian fans who were travelling here not knowing if they had tickets or not. In the end we managed to get 8 free tickets through a variety of sources so, with sun cream, cameras and binoculars in hand, we set off for the first day.
The centre of Galle and all around the ground was decked out with banners saluting Murali, Sri Lanka's famous bowler. Prior to the match, he already held the accolade of being the highest wicket taker in both test matches and one day internationals. He had announced that he'd be retiring after this particular game and, as it started, he was 5 wickets off securing 800 wickets. Life-size images of this google-eyed hero were everywhere. A song to him had even been written and was played at every break over the load speakers in both English and Singhala. You've never heard such a kitsch tune: "From the east to the west, the one days and the test, red ball, white ball, no ball, dead ball; the world knows he's the best."
Actually music was the theme for the day. The match was introduced by a performance from 3 school marching bands. Their first piece was, rather incongruously, the tune that goes with "Hitler has only got one ball; the other is in the Albert Hall". I'm sure you know the tune and it got stuck in my head until they they tried a rendition of something that we all recognised but couldn't quite place until someone realised it was a Beyonce number - very strange. The sad thing was that they were totally out of tune and off beat! The bands then dispersed to various parts of the grounds and the "Battle of the Bands" commenced with almost permanent music going on throughout the day.
On the TV the pitch and the grounds looks pretty professional, but in reality it's a mess! We had tickets for a specific tent but, on arrival, none of the officials had a clue where we were supposed to sit. Sarah went back on the 3rd day and was told that our seats were actually in a totally different part of the ground. Around the pitch (is that what you call it in Cricket? (sorry for my ignorance!)) there is a raised bank on which make-shift awnings had been erected with plastic seats under most. We were under a Micromax awning, the main sponsors for the test, whose tag line is "Nothing like Anything" - what they're expecting the consumer to take away from that, I really don't know. Behind the bank is just a swamp of un-draining water. On a baking hot day, to have to keep avoiding the puddles was rather odd! Many Sri Lankans don't even bother paying the 200-300 rupees to enter the stadium as they can sit on the Ramparts of the Fort next to the ground and watch for free.
The crowds certainly got into it, egged on by the bands. One tent for all the school boys in their pristine white uniforms, were the most into it as they jeered/cheered on every bowler and batsman. They kept their spirits up all day. Apart from a slightly extended lunch break, we lasted the full day, too, until things were called off due to poor light (due to the impending and very vicious rain storm that followed) at about 4.30pm. We adjourned for High Tea at the Amangalla Hotel, a very posh place in the fort, which I'm sure is how all Cricket matches are supposed to end.
Unfortunately, due to work, I couldn't go to any more of the days of the test. You'll be pleased to hear, however, that Sri Lanka won the game and Murali achieved the 5 wickets he needed so he's retired on a high. He's even going to get a special award from President Rajapakse now for his achievement - lucky guy! As you can probably tell, I know very little about Cricket, but I have to say that I really enjoyed the day and am looking forward to the next one. For anyone who is interested, the Cricket World Cup is being held in both India and Sri Lanka next February. Unfortunately Colombo is the only Sri Lankan venue but it still might be fun for any ardent Cricket fans out there.
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