Mumbai: Mumbai is a city that has produced some of the greatest Indian cricketers.

To be playing in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team is considered a ticket to the doors of the Indian cricket team. And even if a cricketer does not make it to the Indian team, he will have the honour of being a member of a team that once had legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.

There are so many great players in Mumbai that when a big match like a World Cup semi-final is played here, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has a tough time distributing complimentary passes.

Traditionally, MCA honours its past cricketers by giving them seats in the Garware Pavilion, which has the best view. But for this semi-final they are finding it difficult to accommodate everyone, since nearly 150 seats had to be blocked as the players’ dugout is right beside this pavilion. Some had to be given seats in the Vijay Merchant pavilion, which offers only a crossfield view. Yet the MCA ensured former Indian captains were all given seats in the President’s Box.

Mumbai have won the Ranji Trophy 41 times, but unfortunately some players, who have played a decisive role in this city winning the trophy repeatedly, failed to get seats offering a good view of the semi-final on Thursday.

Nearly every day there is a story of a cricketing legend in at least one of the local newspapers here. So almost everyone gets to know about the ways of life and the thought processes of their heroes. A number of stories have been published about Sachin Tendulkar, and he once revealed that he always keeps his watch seven to eight minutes ahead to ensure no one has to wait for him.

Speak to any Mumbai fan and he will tell you everything you want to know about a star cricketer. They make sure to read everything about their heroes. Incidentally, former Indian star batsman Venkat Sai Laxman’s outfits during his match analysis on television has attracted much attention. After India’s win over Australia, he was seen wearing a pink shirt under a blue and white blazer, over blue trousers. An orange handkerchief peeked out of the blazer pocket, and he sported a gold watch and brown shoes! Now everyone is curious to see how he dresses up for the next match. Maybe that is why he is called Very Very Special (VVS) Laxman!

The UAE’s top two airlines have used cricket very well to promote their services. Emirates airline is one of the sponsors of the Twenty20 World Cup and match umpires wear the airline logo on their shirts. Etihad sponsors Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians; so their players shirts have the airline’s name on it.

Since all tickets were sold out in advance, fans were not allowed to queue around the stadium in search of tickets. Unlike other centres, tickets in black are sold here discreetly. Capitalising on the demand for tickets for the match, a television manufacturer put out an advertisement saying: “if you can’t go to the stadium, bring the stadium home.”