Kotla Diary 8212; Delhi

No dress for the occasionThe first thing which struck the eyes of the onlookers during Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee's introduction ...

No dress for the occasion
The first thing which struck the eyes of the onlookers during Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee8217;s introduction to the players of the two teams at the Kotla today, was the way the Indian players dressed up for the occasion. While all the Pakistani players were smartly lined up in their blazers with the national emblem prominently displayed, none of the Indians wore blazers. While five of them wore pullovers, the rest stood in only their whites. 8220;It is a sad sight to see none of them with their national colours,8221; one of the former India cricketers commented.

DDCA members sore
Officials of the Delhi and District Cricket Association DDCA were sore even before a ball was bowled oday. The reason: Just one of its officials president Ram Babu Gupta was allowed to accompany the PM to the ground for formal introduction to the teams. DDCA officials, who never miss an opportunity to get photographed at such important functions were naturally disappointed. HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and former cricketer-turned-politician Kirti Azad and local Congress MLA Subhash Chopra were the only persons allowed to accompany the PM, who watched the game for about 15 minutes before leaving. 8220;Hamein bahut khushi huyi,8221; Vajpayee reportedly told the Pakistani players while they were being introduced to him. He later invited both team members to his residence for tea on Saturday.

One for the past
While the DDCA had promised8217; two passes for all Test cricketers living in the Capital, all such cricketers have received just one. All Test cricketers and DDCA members last week received one pass each through courier along with was a letter addressed by the DDCA president Ram Babu Gupta. The former international umpire has written about, 8220;disgruntled elements who are trying to vitiate the convenial atmosphere prevalent at the DDCA and making baseless allegations against the sound democratic system.8221; While condemning such disgruntled elements, he sought the members and cricketers support for 8220;improving club facilities.8221; 8220;Are they improving cricket or club bar facilities,8221; one of the former cricketers questioned.

Inzamam8217;s cool
There were constant shouts of Pakistan hai .. hai8217; and Aloo .. aloo8217; whenever the ball went to Inzamam-ul-Haq. But it must be said to the credit of Pakistan8217;s burly middle-order batsman that he kept his cool and never reacted, the way he had done during the Sahara Cup in Toronto two seasons ago. Although there was sparse crowd to begin with when the match started, it increased by the afternoon. Policemen, for a change, were quite courteous with the people holding passes and tickets, unlike the last time when lot of ticket-holders were refused entry.