With India batting and Sachin Tendulkar in action, crowd attendance improved on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies, though they had to return disappointed as the iconic batsman once again missed out on a chance to hit his 100th international ton on Monday.
Published: Nov 07, 2011, 03:28 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 07, 2011, 03:28 PM (IST)
Sachin Tendulkar was cheered lustily by the small crowd when he entered the ground © Getty Images
New Delhi: Nov 7, 2011
With India batting and Sachin Tendulkar in action, crowd attendance improved on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies, though they had to return disappointed as the iconic batsman once again missed out on a chance to hit his 100th international ton on Monday.
According to official figures, 13,451 spectators watched the second day’s proceedings at the 42,000-capacity Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium with fans swelling after West Indies were all out for 304, half an hour before the lunch break.
The lower two tiers of the Eastern Stand and lowest tier of the Western Stand were more than half-filled as the crowd cheered opening batsmen Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir giving a rollicking start to the Indian first innings with a flurry of boundaries.
Unlike Sunday, fans were also seen in sizeable numbers occupying the lower two tiers of the North Stand and at the area to the left of the media box.
However, considering that it is a holiday on the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha, the stadium certainly witnessed less spectators than expected.
But the moderate crowd had to return disappointed as Tendulkar was out for just seven after staying at the crease for 25 minutes and facing 18 balls in the post-lunch session.
Tendulkar was cheered lustily by the small crowd when he entered the ground after Sehwag was got out under bizarre circumstances. Sehwag’s right foot was in the air while he was trying to work the ball around his hip off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo, and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh clipped the bails off in no time.
But it was when Tendulkar was out LBW to fast bowler Fidel Edwards, the stadium descended into a stunned silence.(PTI)
