The series defeat has not come as a dampener as hundreds of fans came to greet Team India at the airport here on Monday afternoon.
Hundreds throng Santa Cruz to greet the Indian and Aussie teams
MUMBAI: The series defeat has not come as a dampener as hundreds came to greet Team India at the airport here on Monday afternoon.
Undeterred by the team’s dismal performance in the ongoing Future Cup series against Australia, the crowd came all over to the airport to welcome the cricketers, who looked quite upset after losing the series even before it was over. The seventh and the final match of the series will be played in the city on Wednesday.
The team was to reach Mumbai in the morning but they touched down at 3 in the afternoon after their miraculous escape at Nagpur.
When skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped out of the airport, the crowd went berserk and started chanting his name. However, Dhoni did not respond and went straight into the bus with his teammates.
On the other hand, Aussies known for their chill out attitude were very casual in their approach especially express bowler Brett Lee as he clicked photographs of the fans on his mobile phone waiting outside the airport and then waved to the crowd with a smile on the face.
Another attractive personality who stole the limelight was the dashing opener Adam Gilchrist as he too greeted his fans with a smile.
Security at the airport was so tight that even former Indian Board president IS Bindra was not allowed to go till the the players sat in the bus. After their arrival, the teams, skipped the nets and preferred to remain in their hotel rooms.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Australian opener Matthew Hayden, who missed the sixth ODI in Nagpur, is a doubtful starter even for the seventh match. According to sources, the dashing opener had gone for an MRI scan on Monday evening.
However, the Australian media manager Philip Pope did not confirm it. “Hayden is working on his rehabilitation with physio Alex Kountouris,” he said.
Sell-out
Team India’s series loss against Australia did not have a major impact on the ticketing sales for the seventh and final ODI. However, the pace of selling for the Wankhede match slowed down after India lost to Australia in the sixth ODI on Sunday.
Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Hemant Waingankar said the response has been great despite India lost the series.
“We have sold over 5000 of the 7000 tickets and we expect the rest to be sold out on Tuesday,” he told DNA. Out of 40,000 tickets, the association sells only 7,000 tickets to the public while the rest of 38,000 are distributed to over 350 clubs of Mumbai.
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