Thousands throng to watch Indian team train

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Hardly anyone to watch Australian team

- SRIRAM VEERA

"They told me it will be busy, but this busy, huh!" The elderly lady at the entrance of the Adelaide Oval says with a smile.

Around her, utter chaotic joy prevails as at least 3,000 fans storm through just to see the Indian team practice. Dhol beats, cries of 'jeetega bhai jeetega', 'Kohli Kohli', and 'Rohit Rohit' ring in the air. It was an open session for fans to watch the Australian and Indian teams training. There were hardly any people to watch the Australians train in the afternoon, but around 5 pm, they blew in like a storm to see the Indians, shocking the lady at the gate.

Around 6 pm—the Indians had a long training session that started even before 5 pm and ended nearly three-and-a-half hours later—a group of at least 20 Australian schoolkids in uniform ran in to see them. There was no such group for the Australians training. They weren't kids of Indian origin either, such is the attraction of this Indian team Down Under.

The official training was supposed to start at 5:30 pm local time, and it did, but two Indians were at nets an hour earlier: captain Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, who hit the batting nets straightaway, before the crowd came in.