Mumbai: It was kind of half-lazy Tuesday here where nothing moved until 3 p.m. when the West Indies got the day going at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), a few blocks away from the Wankhede Stadium, the venue of action for Thursday’s semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20.
The Indian team remained confined to their hotel rooms, except Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey who followed Darren Sammy’s boys to the CCI for a net. That got a few wondering if Yuvraj Singh’s injury was a serious one, which is why the two most likely replacements were out to oil their skills.
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The demand for tickets is as usual maddening and is expected to soar higher, and while the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and the BCCI try to manage that, it was very much part of the below talking points close to 48 hours before the big game.
Guarding the pitch
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It has been learnt that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is making it sure that no undue favours are done to any team as far as the playing surface is concerned.
Andy Atkinson, chief of ICC’s Ground and Pitches Committee, is in India already overseeing the track to be used for the final at Eden Gardens, while also staying in touch with the curator at the Wankhede Stadium.
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As far the second semi-final here is concerned, it has been learnt that the unused centre wicket will be pressed into service. The last time an international match was played here, South Africa hammered over 400 runs in an ODI, which sparked a controversy and a tiff between Ravi Shastri and Sudhir Naik.
Mumbai has been producing high-scoring games since the tournament started, while India have preferred to play on slow turners. That will make for interesting viewing how MS Dhoni’s team, which hasn’t been firing at the top of the batting order, reacts in the crunch game.
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Gayle warns of an all out attack
The towering figure of Chris Gayle walked towards the waiting journalists before padding up for a hit in the nets. It wasn’t a scheduled meeting, so that was pretty accommodating on the West Indies part to agree to media’s request.
The freewheeling Jamaican was cheeky as usual. “Virat [Kohli] can get runs, but in a losing cause,” he chuckled, before making his intentions with the bat very clear.
“Chris Gayle will always be positive, it doesn’t matter which bowler will actually be bowling. Chris Gayle will look to attack. That’s the nature of T20 cricket and that’s the nature of Chris Gayle as well. No names, just the cricket ball, just try to beat it as hard as I can,”
And the West Indian is making the most of his stay in the B-town, as he went to meet super star Amitabh Bachchan at his home.
Rahane and Pandey train
Pandey received an SOS to join the Indian team as cover for Yuvraj, who twisted his ankle while batting against Australia in Mohali. And the right-hander didn’t waste any time to get himself in shape should he be needed for the knockout game.
Pandey and Rahane had a long training session with batting coach Sanjay Bangar, taking throw-downs on one side of the ground at CCI while the West Indies team trained on the other.
No clarity on Yuvraj
There was no confirmed news on the state of Yuvraj’s injury, but according to BCCI sources, he is making steady progress and being continuously monitored by the physiotherapist.
He limped through his innings in Mohali, where he twice required attention on the ground before getting out. It’s almost certain that he won’t be part of team’s training on Wednesday, where an exact state of his injury is expected to be known.
Ticket rush
As soon as India sealed their semi-final spot, the MCA office was bombarded with requests and demands for tickets. People are expected to fly into India’s business capital from all corners of the globe. But while some have tickets, some have only arrived in hope of getting an entry to the game.
“We are five and we follow the Indian team everywhere,” said a man at the CCI watching the West Indies train. “But we have only four tickets and are looking for one more so that none of us has to sacrifice on watching the match,” he said, before a polite inquiry.
“Do you get any passes on tickets?”
That makes it apparent what’s the most prized possession in Mumbai until the game starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.