Batman fails his Gotham

Brabourne Stadium was abuzz with an air of expectation on Friday morning. A professor from a reputed college in the central suburbs cancelled his professional commitments to accompany his students to the stadium. Hundreds of office goers and school children took an impromptu day off.

All this, just for one man. And it wasn’t Sachin Tendulkar, for a change.

It was the day when Virender Sehwag was supposed to etch his name in history books by becoming the first cricketer ever to score three triple centuries in Test cricket.

More than that, the thousands who lined up outside the stadium and those who already occupied their seats inside were expecting Viru to take it from where he left off on Thursday when he smashed the Lankan bowlers all around the park.

The effect Sehwag’s innings had on the crowd turnout was evident. Around 20,000 turned out for the third day on Friday, the highest for this Test. And the number could have been much more if he was there till lunch.

Unfortunately the script went horribly wrong. The news of Sehwag’s “untimely” dismissal spread even as people were standing in the queue, which began from the back entrance of the stadium near the Ambassador Hotel up to Eros theatre.

It was suppose to be a field day for the black marketeers. Singling out the impatient ones, they did manage some healthy business till the start of the day’s play. But Sehwag’s wicket hurt them the most.

To keep up their sales, they tried to convince the crowd that Sehwag wasn’t out and was on the verge of scoring 300. “Buy this ticket and watch him bat. He’s about to score 300,” a black marketeer  was heard saying.

Many of them, who were visibly disappointed, decided against buying a ticket, saying their only motivation was to see him bat.

Still there was pretty much to cheer for those who did turn up. The crowd went berserk each time Tendulkar was on strike while a scintillating century by skipper MS Dhoni was the perfect icing on the cake.