Sydney: All roads led to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday which saw cricketing fanfare at it’s best. The preparation to be at the India-Australia clash had begun from early morning with almost every fan dressing up for the match with most painting their nation’s colours on their faces.
A large number of Indian fans came in an open double-decker bus waving the tri-colour. It was an ocean of fans outside the stadium, majority being Indians.
The arrangements to get inside the stadium was so immaculate that the crowd of over 40,000 could easily get in without much wait despite the tight security check at the entrance.
Some cricket fans also got to fly high at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Following an invitation from KFC and Pepsi, the journalists too got a chance to go over the roof of the SCG. They were invited to take the ride to the Sky box open air restaurant - it helped everyone watch the match for 20 minutes munching chicken popcorns and sipping soft drinks. Skybox is a revolving restaurant that is suspended on a crane 40 metres above the SCG. Those getting in are strapped into swivel chairs and will be literally floating in the air.
With a 360 degree view of the SCG field it was undoubtedly the best seat for the semi-final, though only for a short while. Most journalists took the ride before the start while many fans continued to fly high even after the match started.
The Skybox has a seating of 20 guests and everyone has to strictly wear seat belts. This floating restaurant was in full service during the match.
As soon as David Warner got out, a banner was seen being waved by a fan saying: “Warner, we are giving you an advance for Indian Premier League (IPL) appearance.” When Glenn Maxwell got out cheaply, another banner sprang up: “We will make sure you get the highest price in all the IPL”
India’s matches have proved to be biggest crowd pullers here with 86,876 present at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to watch their pool match against South Africa, 41,587 at Adelaide Oval for the pool match against Pakistan, and 51,552 at MCG for quarter-final against Bangladesh.
