Mumbai: Mumbai is the hub of Hindi film industry, and Bollywood stars enjoy a great chemistry with the cricketers. I am fortunate to be staying at the Wankhede Stadium itself and from my window I can see the Mumbai Hockey Association astro turf ground. On Tuesday, a movie was being shot near the turf grounds.
Bollywood stars are seen frequenting most of the IPL after-parties, so it is no surprise to see cricketers interacting closely with them here.
Chris Gayle accepted an invitation from the legendary Amitabh Bachchan to visit his home in Juhu. Though the drive was a long one for Gayle, he went to the superstar’s house.
Close to the stadium is the picturesque Marine Drive, also known as the Queen’s Necklace, on the popular Chowpatty beach. West Indies skipper Darren Sammy, along with West Indies women’s team skipper, were seen taking part in a special photo shoot there. Sammy was demonstrating a sixer shot and many fans who had gathered there cheered him as if he was actually hitting a six!
All the small patches in and around the stadium were filled with local cricketers playing matches, even though it was a working day. No wonder this city is called the nursery of cricket.
An ordinary tournament at the Gymkhana grounds had at least 20 banners of sponsors supporting the event. A scribe who was with me quipped: “If only the West Indies and Zimbabwe teams had so many sponsors backing their national team.”
If any youngster is keen to watch a top-class player in action, it is easy to get that here. Most top companies hire the best cricketers and they play in local tournaments. On Tuesday, India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, playing at the DY Patil University Stadium in the Times Shield tournament, cracked a century for Indian Oil Sports Club team.
Incidentally, players from the Mumbai Indians team who will be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have already assembled here and started practicing under the watchful eyes of their team coach and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting. Come April 9, barely six days after the World Cup final, Mumbai Indians play at the Wankhede Stadium against Rising Pune Supergiants in their first match of the IPL.
Though the India-West Indies semi-final match is scheduled for 7.30pm on Thursday, being a working day, many have decided to skip office either for the entire day or the second half, not wanting to miss the action from the start. This is because reaching home in time from different parts of the city could take hours, given the regular traffic snarls in the city.
Food giants McDonalds, cashing in on the cricket fever went smart with their advertisement: “Don’t miss a single delivery with McDelivery”.
Tissot, which has Virat Kohli as their brand ambassador, has released full page ads in many local newspapers to cash in on the Kohli fervour showing the star batsman shaping to play a shot.
