Try telling the denizens here that the one-day series between India and South Africa has already been decided and only academic interest remains in the final game tomorrow and, they give you that mocking wide-eyed expression which seems to suggest, 'So what! who cares'?
All they want is to somehow enter the Vidharbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium tomorrow, see a flurry of fours and sixes and have fun.
The organisers are a harried lot. The capacity of the stadium is 35,000 but just to avoid any trouble and to keep things under control, we are holding back 2,000 tickets. Rest have all been sold out, said media manager Sharat Padhye.
Both teams arrived here from Baroda today. Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin,Ajit Agarkar and coach Kapil Dev stayed back in Mumbai yesterday and reached here this morning.
Sourav Ganguly is already being hailed as an aggressive, thinking captain. While it is still too early to form any definite opinion about Ganguly's leadership qualities, one thing is there for all to see. Ever since he took over as skipper, one has seen a different Ganguly.
Captaincy, it seems, has worked as a strong catalyst for him. He is all aggression and confidence. he remains, calm, unruffled and unfazed. His ideas are clear and he is already having a say in team-selection. Out went Samir Dighe and in came State-mate Saba Karim, all in a matter of three one-dayers in charge.
It's clear that he is calling the shots. And he likes being important and in the centre of things, unlike his predecessor, Tendulkar, who preferred to be left alone.
Some of his aggression , however, has a negative side. In the four one-dayers so far, Ganguly has been seen remonstrating with umpires, gesticulating aggressively as he wants to make a point. If he does not curb some of that aggression, he could soon invite censure.
Tendulkar, on the other hand, does not let any debate about him linger for any length of time. When people were just beginning to say that captaincy was putting pressure on him, he decided to step down.
And now when whispers were starting that he is out of touch, he came up with a mature century at Baroda yesterday.
Twenty-five one-day hundreds at the age of 26. At this rate he might end up scoring in excess of 50 one-day centuries.
Now with India securing the series, some new faces could get an outing tomorrow. Mohd Kaif or S Sriram or probably both. Ganguly said, We will decide about that in the team meeting later this evening.
The pitch here is devoid of grass and has been rolled for over two days. It's dry and hard and should encourage strokeplay, as has become the trend in the one-dayers in these parts.
Injuries to pace bowlers Hayward and Williams have not helped the South Africans and even Lance Klusener is nursing an ankle-injury, which has restricted him from giving his hundred per cent in the one-day series. All this has only compounded the worries of Hansie Cronje, whose bowlers have failed to defend good totals and the normally aggressive fielders have struggled in the one-dayers.
India: (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid (vice-capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Sunil Joshi, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, S Sriram, Mohammed Kaif, Nikhil Chopra and Syed Saba Karim.
South Africa: (from): Hansie Cronje (capt), Shaun Pollock (vice-capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Dale Benkenstein, Pieter Strydom, Neil McKenzie, Steve Elworthy, Nicky Boje, Derek Crookes, Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.
Umpires: SK Bansal (Delhi) and Francis Gomes (Calcutta). Third Umpire: Narender Menon (Madhya Pradesh). Match Referee: Raman Subba Row (England).
