To understand some of the contents of this blog better, read my blog regarding India v England 2nd Test in Chennai 2021: Click/Touch Here
Right when BCCI announced their home season schedule on the 20th of September 2021, I had planned to go for the 1st Test between India & New Zealand from the 25th of November 2021 to the 29th of November 2021 along with my partner-in crime (my college batchmate and then roommate), Jaskirat Singh Sethi who was coming all the way from Delhi (415 kms).
As I have stated earlier in my blogs, I am a 23-year-old guy from Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad) which is the land of the holy Sangam (meeting point of rivers Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati) situated in the state of Uttar Pradesh. With the Green Park Stadium being the closest international stadium to my home (195 kms) and it being somewhat geographically in the middle for the two of us, it was another great opportunity presenting itself in front of us to enjoy some exquisite red ball cricket from the stands.
BUILD-UP
As the D-Day came closer, our excitement soared through the sky. Both of us applied for leaves for the match from our respective offices (yes, we were no longer students like our visit to Chepauk but employees by now) and boarded a train to Kanpur.
On the dawn of the 25th of November 2021, both of us arrived in Kanpur and headed straight to the stadium after checking in our luggage in the railway station cloak room.
Me (Left) & Jaskirat Singh Sethi (Right) while standing in the queue at the entrance outside the Green Park Stadium
DAILY ROUTINE
After the close of play on day 1, we checked in a guest house named ‘Chhabra Niwas’ which was our place of stay in Kanpur. This place was in close proximity to virtually every important thing in Kanpur and yet had a home-like touch in everything about it at an extremely pocket-friendly cost.
We used to wake up at 7am and after freshening up we used to leave for the stadium by 8am. We used to reach Civil Lines (the area where Green Park Stadium is located) by 8:30am by public transport. We used to have roadside breakfast here post which we used to enter the stadium by 9am. Barring day 1 and 5, we explored the various places of attraction in Kanpur during night after the day’s play used to get over. At the end of it all, we used to have dinner at places famous for their food before heading to our guest house to sleep eventually.
DAY 1
As you guys would have figured out from our previous match blog, we have had a tradition of struggling a lot for the retrieval of physical tickets even after booking it online. We expected the same here in Green Park but to our surprise there was virtually no queue and we retrieved our online tickets in physical form in literally no time which pleased us a lot.
We had the Season Pass which meant we were provided with tickets of all 5 days stapled together one below the other
A big surprise awaited us at the entrance of the stadium itself when while standing at the entrance of the queue, the guy standing next to us happened to be a Virat Kohli lookalike. His name was Ayush Mishra who had come all the way from Pratapgarh (a municipality in Uttar Pradesh) to watch this game. He was soon surrounded by the enthusiasts of the game as everyone wanted a selfie with him due to his resemblance with Virat Kohli. His image also appeared in some newspapers for the sheer resemblance he had with the stalwart.
This game was Rahul Dravid’s first Test ever as the head coach of India. From the Indian camp, Shreyas Iyer was handed his maiden Test cap by the great, Sunil Gavaskar while Rachin Ravindra made his Test debut from the New Zealand camp. The capping ceremony in the New Zealand camp was done by former Auckland player, James Pamment. The toss was won by Ajinkya Rahane who decided to make his troops bat first which was an absolute no-brainer and it was proven even more right by the Indian batsmen as they ended up the day with 258-4 at the close of day’s play. The limelight of the day was stolen was by Shreyas Iyer (77*), Ravindra Jadeja (50*) and Shubman Gill (52). New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson also rocked the Indian batting lineup with his 3 wickets with the focus being on Gill’s dismissal which came off a jaffa.
We had the Season Pass, i.e., 5 days ticket for the E-Public stand and we watched the first session of the day from our designated stand itself but during the lunch break we somehow got the opportunity to sneak into C-General where we ended up spending the rest of our day. During the lunch break, I spotted New Zealand’s Assistant Coach, James Pamment (nicknamed as Commander) who also happened to be Mumbai Indians’ Fielding Coach taking rounds of the ground on foot. I shouted his name along with his nickname with probably all the might my throat had and to my surprise he replied back to me in a gesture that was somewhat like “that’s my man”. He kept on encircling the field on foot and every time he passed by my stand, I would shout for him with an even greater enthusiasm and pitch and the great man would respond to me every time. This filled me with joy and delight and little did I know then that it was just the start of something really beautiful to come.
I came across a diehard Sachin Tendulkar fanatic like me. His name happened to be Ravi Singh and he had dozens of newspaper cutouts containing articles written on Ravi Singh’s love for Cricket and Sachin Tendulkar. I was more than glad to meet another diehard Sachin Tendulkar fanatic like me in the stands.
By the end of play on day 1, we had made some new friends in the stadium and though there were initially only 2 of us but by the end of the day we had developed a great bond with Ayush Mishra (the Virat Kohli lookalike) and Arjit Tiwari (whom we labelled as Shreyas Iyer on our own on a humorous note) which made us more like a group of 4 for the rest of the Test to come.
DAY 2
The day started on a great note as we came across Ankit Rajpoot in Uttar Pradesh Cricket Team’s jacket (represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic circuit and Rajasthan Royals in IPL) at Jareeb Chowki Railway Crossing while going to the stadium. We were unfortunate to not get a selfie or autograph with him as we were on one end of the railway track while he was on the other and the crossing gate was down as a train was set to cross by. I was awestruck upon seeing a star cricketer walking on foot through such a crowded road. My mouth was left wide open in awe and surprise. From the other side of the crossing, Ankit Rajpoot understood my reason of awe and waved his hand towards me which was cut abruptly by the train that passed through the middle and by the time the train went, he was gone as well.
On the cricketing front, it proved it to be one nightmare of a day for India as the remaining 6 Indian wickets fell down by adding a mere 87 runs as Tim Southee rattled the Indians on a chilly, foggy morning in Kanpur with a fifer but all of that couldn’t stop Shreyas Iyer (105) from scoring a century in his maiden Test inning which later proved to be the only happy moment for India in the day. India were bundled out a little after lunch but even a score of 345 seemed enough to dominate the proceedings especially with New Zealand set to bat last in the Test but to everyone’s horror, the World Test Champions of the 2019-21 cycle were seen racing to 129 without any loss at the close of day’s play. Will Young (75*) who had just 3 Test caps and 4 innings under his belt with none of them being in Asia before this, impressed everyone with his way of negotiating the Indian spin stalwarts in their very own backyard. The way which Tom Latham (50*) played, stamped the label of him being a great player of spin even more.
The way with which we had sneaked into some other stand yesterday had been blocked now so E-Public was the stand from where we watched the remainder of the entire Test.
James Pamment's fitness at the age of 53 was viewed with amusement by everyone present in the ground. He again encircled the ground during the breaks and was treated by my loud, enthusiastic cheers to which he responded every time which was a huge honour for me. By his actions, I could make out that he had recognised me that I was the same guy who was cheering for him the day before. I was wearing a Mumbai Indians jersey and the Commander really liked it which became evident when he pointed out to the Mumbai Indians crest on my chest.
DAY 3
The Day 3 of a Test match is traditionally known as ‘The Moving Day’ in terms of play. The crowd entered the stadium with the hopes of Indian spinners pulling back the tide their way as the way they always do in home Tests and they weren’t disappointed as the Indian spinners claimed 9 New Zealand wickets with Axar grabbing a fifer and Ashwin accounting for 3. India were back on top in the game as they bundled out the remaining 10 wickets at an addition of mere 167 runs which made them gain a significant lead of 49 runs. Unfortunately, by the close of day’s play India too had lost the services of Shubman Gill who was again knocked over by Jamieson for real cheap and were 14-1. The day 3 had indeed turned out to be a moving day where at the end of day’s play both the teams were in contention but with the scales being slightly in favour of India.
By now, I was pretty sure about James Pamment’s schedule. I knew he would take walks around the boundary ropes compulsorily during the lunch break and on an optional basis during the tea break.
My throat was gone due to so much of shouting and even my tone of voice had changed but yet I waited for him to come in front of my stand and every time he did so, he was greeted by a huge roar for him by my side. During one of his circles, he stopped and asked me “Where’s your jersey?” to which I replied while turning back “Today skipper’s jersey, Rohit Sharma” as I was wearing India’s 2019 World Cup Away jersey with Rohit 45 inscribed at the back instead of the Mumbai Indians jersey that I wore the day before.
Video: James Pamment enquiring me about the Mumbai Indians jersey that I wore on day 2 of the Test
DAY 4
The Indian hopes were dealt with a serious blow as the Indian top order was rattled yet again on a chilly, foggy morning in Kanpur where at just midway into the first session (15 overs of day’s play), India were left bruised at 51-5 with the lead being exactly 100.
This was the time when everyone in the New Zealand camp believed that they can script history in Kanpur but that’s exactly when the biggest thorn in the flesh with the ball for all the touring Test sides in India arrived to the crease with his bat and yet managed to become one. The debutant Shreyas Iyer (65), who was the hero in the 1st innings was able to impress everyone yet again. The pair of Iyer-Ashwin added a vital stand of 52 runs and breathed a fresh life to the Indian innings. Wriddhiman Saha (61*), who couldn’t keep wickets at all in this Test due to a stiff neck was the next one to arrive to crease after Ashwin’s dismissal. Saha played out of his skin in adverse conditions and stitched a partnership of 64 runs with Iyer. India’s lead was of 216 runs when Iyer was dismissed and this was again an opening for the New Zealanders to rattle through the tail within the next 10-15 runs and then try to win the game but Axar Patel came completely out of syllabus and stitched an unbeaten 67 runs partnership with Saha which put India virtually in a position from where they just couldn’t lose. Southee and Jamieson were again the pick of the bowlers as they grabbed 3 wickets apiece. India declared their innings with a target of 284 for New Zealand to chase. At the fag end of the day, New Zealand were left with around 12 minutes to bat by the end of which India managed to somehow get rid of the first innings hero, Will Young in what was a controversial decision where the review was taken 2 seconds later than the maximum allowed time of 15 seconds. The replays showed that he was actually not out as the ball was missing the wickets.
That was all for the cricketing part but as a fan sitting in the stands, my day in the stadium felt incomplete without James Pamment’s walk. I had specially come wearing the Mumbai Indians jersey again like day 2 as he had asked me where it was on day 3. When I saw him for the first time on that day, I pointed towards the Mumbai Indians jersey I was wearing and shouted with all my might “The jersey’s here Commander, Mumbai Indians”. To my absolute surprise, he crossed the advertising board and pulled out a Mumbai Indians jersey out of his pocket and dropped it in my hands. Many other spectators also tried to grab that jersey from my hands but the Commander specifically instructed all of them to stay away and let me catch it as it was meant for me. I was filled with extreme joy and was over the moon to be precise. When I unfolded the jersey, I saw that it was a jersey with his name ‘James’ inscribed on its collar and a note was present in there which literally gave me the happiest moment of my life. The note read “With Love From The Commander” below which was his autograph.
Video: James Pamment giving his autographed Mumbai Indians jersey to me
Coincidentally, that day (28th of November) also happened to be the birthday of Cecillia Pamment (James Pamment’s wife).
The Note containing the lovely message and autograph
Me posing in the jersey provided to me by James Pamment
The jersey with 'James' (James Pamment) written on the collar
DAY 5
I went to the stadium in the special jersey provided to me by James Pamment yesterday. The journey to the stadium was very different on this day as my partner in crime, Jaskirat had to leave back for Delhi yesterday late in the night as some urgent office work had arrived for him. The other 2 members of our stadium crew too were not going to come today due to their personal commitments owing which they had returned back to their district. It meant that I was all on my own for the deciding day of this Test. This didn’t give me good vibes from the within but the scorecard indicated a likely Indian win on the cards as for all practical purposes, only two results were possible at the start of the day’s play - India win or draw and the issue with the latter was that though it was possible but it would require exemplary skill, perseverance and patience from any visiting side to withstand an entire day 5 in India with 9 wickets left in the kitty.
But as we all know that despite being a real small nation by area and population, New Zealand have the zeal and knack to rise up against all odds and that’s what happened as the nightwatchman William Somerville got glued to the crease with the deputy skipper Tom Latham (52) who was brilliant as usual.
The post-lunch session was a mixed bag for both the sides as India got rid of Somerville off the first ball of the 2nd session but New Zealand yet had their tail up in the session till they lost Ross Taylor at the stroke of Tea. Going into the final session, India needed 6 more wickets while New Zealand needed to bat a minimum of 31.5 overs from hereon.
James Pamment was again greeted with loud cheers by me and he was generous yet again on me during day 5 as he stopped by for a selfie with me with both his thumbs up (unfortunately, the haste and the mediocre quality of camera along with the angle of sunlight didn't let it be a great snap but nevertheless it's a picture to cherish)
Trust me, I have been to stadiums a good number of times now but the last session produced a feeling in me like never before. It was all a mix of anxiety, joy, adrenaline, fear, pain, agony, panic and what not.
India started the final session with a bang as Henry Nicholls was dismissed plumb on merely the 6th ball of the session. Exactly 5 overs later, Kane Williamson was trapped in front by Jadeja and at this moment every Indian watching or following the game could smell an Indian victory round the corner with such a big wicket falling. Blundell and Rachin were on a blockathon which lasted for 55 deliveries when Blundell’s stumps were rocked by Ashwin. Jamieson and Rachin’s pair lasted for another 46 deliveries when the giraffe sized New Zealander was trapped in front by Jadeja. Next up, was Tim Southee who is a hit or miss kind of a batsman and he could take out only 8 deliveries from the equation before perishing. With a minimum of 52 more balls left in the day’s play, Ajaz Patel came out with his willow as the last man to join Rachin Ravindra.
The reason I am mentioning the number of deliveries now instead of overs is that the game had boiled down so deep as to have every single delivery matter which is not very common in Test cricket.
Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel put up a brave face and blocked every single delivery really well. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who had grabbed 4 and 3 wickets respectively in the innings were still toiling hard to somehow grab another. With each passing delivery, died the hopes of Indian fans and so was the sunlight to make matters even worse. The light was just around the threshold for it to be declared stumps and the end of every over witnessed a light meter reading being done from both the ends and every time Nitin Menon and Virender Sharma came together with the light meter next to the stumps, my heart skipped a beat. Every time, these two came together I just felt like splitting them up and sending them back to their positions.
At the end of the 95th over, it felt like all was lost as Rachin and Ajaz were seen walking to the pavilion while umpires were about to dislodge the bails but exactly then a passing cloud which had covered the sun moved away and the brightness level increased which made the umpires call back the two batsmen who were on their way back. This was followed by a huge roar from the crowd as when all seemed lost the Sun still had one final trick up its sleeve. I shouted with every last ounce of the energy I had in my body at this moment. I don’t recollect ever cheering even 1/100th of it for the increase or decrease in the intensity of the sunlight as I did on this occasion but this was one period that could make anyone do the unimaginable.
The final ball of the 96th over, produced a loud appeal of LBW from the Indians but the umpire Nitin Menon didn’t budge under pressure and made a correct call. India reviewed the decision as a desperate measure which though sucked up a few minutes but was the right thing to do keeping in mind that it could even have been the last ball of the Test had light meter reading been not up to the mark.
The clock just didn’t matter anymore as the sunlight was fading faster as Axar Patel completed an uneventful over which was followed by yet another light meter check. Every light meter check after which the bails weren’t removed, allowed the crowd to roar with all their might but with light fading away it actually seemed that in all probability, the 98th over of the innings which was to be bowled by Ravindra Jadeja was set to be the final one. Ajaz Patel successfully defended the first 5 deliveries and it had all boiled down to the final ball.
The irony of the moment lied in the fact that there were 15 people of Indian origin present inside the play area at the moment and yet it was India who were on the cusp of being robbed off a win. Rachin Ravindra, the debutant had lived up to his name by batting out 91 deliveries in the toughest of circumstances for a batsman at any point in his career. He was named after Rahul (RAhul) Dravid & Sachin (saCHIN) Tendulkar and he displayed their virtues of greatness on his debut. Ajaz Patel had blocked off 22 deliveries with a solid defence but his work was far from over as he still had to negotiate the most important and the last one to come.
I am a highly optimistic and enthusiastic person and despite all of this, I grabbed my jersey and lifted it in half with an intention to swing it in air (obviously I would again wear it post that since the jersey was so precious for me) with full force just like Sourav Ganguly did at the Lord’s in 2002, had a wicket fallen off the very last ball but Ajaz Patel’s solid defence didn’t budge as he took a small stride forward and defended it successfully. With it, my eyes were filled with big drops of tears which didn’t trickle down my cheeks. Anyone, who would have experienced this would know that this is the toughest form of sobbing when one’s eyes are completely drenched with tears and yet none of them roll down one’s cheek due to the sheer depth of pain and despair caused.
Only if the Sun had allowed those 12 minutes of play that were still left in the final day’s play was my biggest regret while leaving the stadium.
For complete scorecard: Click/Touch Here
EPILOGUE
It was a really slow and long walk back to Parade from Green Park. Luckily, a friend named Prankur Tewari that I had made inside the stadium gave me a lift from Parade to the guest house I was staying in. While sitting at the back of the vehicle, I was just physically present there but my mind was in a state of shock which comprised the mixed feelings of agony and sorrow. I picked up my bag from the guest house and headed right away to the railway station to head back home.
During my journey from the guest house to the railway station, I had pacified a little and had started to think more rationally but I found complete solace only when I received a text from ‘The Commander’ the contents of which have been depicted below.
I was at the Kanpur Central Railway Station all set to travel back home when this message arrived and it actually brought my senses back to me.
In hindsight when I look upon this game, I feel it was the best game of Cricket that I have ever watched live from the stands of a stadium as this game had all the three results possible in it for a great amount of time and though the final result was a draw, this 3rd result (apart from win or loss) is what makes the format of Test cricket way more special, pure and unique as compared to any other format of Cricket. Draws have become almost a forgotten identity now and the only draws that occur are the ones which get affected by weather. Due to these facts, it was a perfect template for the advertisement of Test cricket as such exciting draws too will encourage the interest of the masses in the purest format of Cricket. I consider myself lucky enough to witness it from my naked eyes on all the 5 days of play.
India may have been ‘A Wicket Away’ but life’s all about imperfections and the way we perceive and embrace them. There goes a popular saying - ‘it’s upon your perception whether the glass is half empty or half full’ and the same way it would depend upon one’s perception to describe it as ‘a trip that was A Wicket Away from being perfect or a trip where one witnessed A Perfect Test Match’ with the latter being my own way of perceiving in both the cases stated above because that’s what optimists do :-) .
NOTABLE MENTION
I will never ever in my life forget the kind of recognition James Pamment Sir gave me and he will always hold a very dear position in my heart.
The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) needs to be appreciated for arranging a tanker of water for every stand which didn’t cost anything overhead. Many stadiums in India, do not provide free water (as experienced by me in my previous match blog) in any form and instead sell 1 small glass of water at 15 Rs which is basically daylight robbery and should not be encouraged as water is a basic necessity for all and the spectators should either be allowed to bring in bottles or be provided with free to drink water sources.
A big shoutout to all the great cricketing fanatics I came across in Green Park from the 25th of November 2021 to the 29th of November 2021.
Despite my several visits to the stadium, I didn’t make even half the friends of what I made in this game as compared to the combined sum of all other games. I would like to mention Ayush Mishra, Arjit Tiwari, Mohammed Azhar, Prankur Tewari, etc. I will certainly miss the presence of these folks around me the next time I watch a game from the stands. Hope to see a Test match again in Green Park in the presence of all these folks.
Left to Right: Azhar, Jaskirat, Me, Ayush & Arjit.
PS: Ayush doesn't look exactly like Kohli in snaps but he does in reality. See him in-person for once and one will agree for sure just the way local newspapers and everyone present in the Green Park did by swarming around him for selfies throughout the course of the 4 days he came to the stadium.
