Broken pieces of bricks scattered all over the fence, a stray dog sheepishly making its way inside the ground and torn pieces of white cloth hanging from poles along the boundary lines! These glaring eye sores are hardly the right atmosphere for a Ranji Trophy semifinal.The DDCA officials put cloth cover all along the boundary next to the pavilion on the first morning of the match to hide the ruins of the demolished stands. But a storm on Sunday had the flimsy covers in tatters, presenting a sorry picture today even as a galaxy of officials, including chairman of national selection committee Brijesh Patel, visited the ground to witness the game.The DDCA officials did not bother to replace the cloth cover with fresh ones. ‘‘We have asked the tentwallah to change it. It was just a temporary arrangement. The storm was so strong that it blew away the covers,’’ was the comment from one of the officials.Dogs and cricket fields have a common bond. Today, the umpires had to intervene and ask the ground staff to drive a stray dog away from the ground.Most importantly, there was no check on people getting close to the players and their dressing rooms. When Sehwag went in to bat this afternoon, two autograph-seekers followed him to the crease. And the Indian star batsman had to run for his life at the end of play to avoid the mob that entered the ground.Chaos reined and lackadaisical attitude of the DDCA officialdom, as usual, continued. But, as they say, things never change at Kotla.
