Kolkata played Bangalore at home in the IPL match yesterday. Kolkata narrowly managed to win and they owe Rahul Dravid a debt of gratitude. He batted for Kolkata and ensured that the match was way beyond the grasp of the Royal Challengers when he left the crease.
As always, the capacity crowd loudly cheered every single run scored, every wicket taken and every brilliant stop in the field effected by the Knight Riders.
As usual, none of those cheers were heard when the opposition hit a boundary or picked a wicket.
The biased Arun Lal (with absolutely no cricket record to boast of) hails from Kolkata. He claims that the cricket suporters in Kolkata are knowledgeable cricket loving group.
It was the same ‘cricket loving’ Kolkata crowd that hurled glass bottles at the Sri Lankans when India went on to lose the semi-final of the 1996 world cup.
It was the same ‘cricket loving’ Kolkata crowd that went on a rampage and burnt effigies of Greg Chappell when an out-of-form Ganguly was shown the doors.
It was the same ‘cricket loving’ Kolkata crowd that supported the South African team in an ODI against an Indian team that played without Ganguly.
It is the same Kolkata that contains some cricket fanatics that put their regional interests above the interests of the nation.
9 responses so far ↓
Jennifer Lancey // May 9, 2008 at 8:48 am |
Hello there. I was sent a link to your blog by a friend a while ago. I have been reading a long for a while now. Just wanted to say HI. Thanks for putting in all the hard work.
Jennifer Lancey
12th Man // May 9, 2008 at 9:41 am |
Thanks Jenny.
My pleasure!
Indian Premier League - IPL » Kolkata and Unsportive behaviour // May 9, 2008 at 11:10 am |
[...] Original post by Chinese Cut [...]
currycricketer // May 9, 2008 at 3:47 pm |
I remember Sehwag got his blistering century against the Deccan Chargers & was met with hardly any acknowledgement from the crowd.
I’m sure there are some that will say that it’s a good sign for the IPL, that people are getting strongly behind their teams, but yeah I’m with you mate – there’s a degree of sportsmanship that should be shown by crowds, no matter who the opposition.
With regards to the behaviour, a mob mentallity can make even sane people do things they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s no defence, but I’m sure that there are some in the crowd who would not have behaved in those ways had they not been in the mob.
12th Man // May 10, 2008 at 4:57 am |
Currycricketer: You are right mate. It is extremely fine if they support their home team in the IPL. Supporting a team doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate good cricket played by the opposition. Kolkata has an history of bad crowd behaviour. And they only show no signs to improve.
sumit26 // May 11, 2008 at 11:02 am |
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12th Man // May 11, 2008 at 11:13 am |
Thanks Sumit. I am not interested.
Cricket: IPL 2008 - Review | The Coach's Box // June 1, 2008 at 7:59 am |
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