Sudhir Gautam, that famous Sachin Tendulkar fan, doesn't miss any cricket when India are playing. He's there doing his customary flag-waving at each ground, each day that Team India plays.
One would've, thus, expected Gautam to be present for the first Test in Mumbai after that heart-breaking day for him when Tendulkar retired on the same venue. However, he was absent on the first day's play on Thursday.
The reason? Well, Tendulkar had asked him on Thursday to join him in Bengaluru for a promotional shoot for the Premier Badminton League, in which the retired maestro is the co-owner of the Bengaluru franchise.
"Jab bhagwaan bulaye toh jaana padta hai (When God calls, you have to go)," said Gautam, who was back in the city and at the Wankhede on Friday.
And off he went. Gautam packed his bags after cheering for India during their final training session on Wednesday, and took the flight out of the city to Bengaluru on Wednesday night. The tickets, of course, were arranged by Tendulkar himself.
"This is the first time I've ever missed a day's play in Test cricket out of the 57 Tests that I've cheered for India in. Even on days when I was really sick, I made sure I never remained away from the ground when India were playing," he said.
Gautam spent the entire day in Bengaluru shooting for the video along with badminton star Saina Nehwal while India were busy picking up some English wickets at the Wankhede on Thursday. He must've missed waving that huge India flag around each time Virat Kohli & Co took a wicket, isn't it?
"Yes, but everything comes second to me after Sachin. I am what I am today because of him, and if he tells me to do something, I will do it without asking anything. Unke liye mein mar bhi sakta hu (I can die for him)," Gautam said.
Want to buy ticket in stadium? Good luck
There was a long queue of fans waiting at the ticket sales window outside the Mumbai Hockey Association early on Friday morning even before the second play's began. A chart of "Day 2 tickets sold out" was stuck on the walls soon after, though. With most of the tickets allocated for online sale, many people who hoped to buy tickets across the counter were left disappointed. And they should be, for a lot of seats were left empty even on Friday. But according to Mumbai Cricket Association, around 14,500 people turned up on the second day, about 2,000 more than Thursday. Not surprisingly, they're expecting a full house over the weekend.
Reiffel adviced day's rest after concussion
Australian umpire Paul Reiffel, who was hit on the back of the head by a throw from the deep by Bhuvneswhar Kumar on the first day on Thursday, did not take the field even on Friday. The word was that even though scans cleared the Australian of any injury on Thursday, he had suffered a concussion on Friday and has, thus, been adviced rest for another day. Marais Erasmus walked out as the on-field umpire in place of Reiffel on Friday again, while C Shamsuddin continued as the TV umpire.
–Rutvick Mehta
