Boria Majumdar
With the Indian and South African players having touched down in Kolkata, the focus is now firmly on the Test match starting November 14. Against the reigning WTC champions, this will be a huge challenge that could well define India’s campaign. The South Africa series inevitably brings back memories of the very first match between the two teams at the Eden Gardens in November 1991, a 50-over thriller that marked South Africa’s formal re-entry into world cricket.
What stood out first and foremost about this match was the crowd. Eden Gardens was packed to capacity and there were 100,000 people in the stands for the game. While the capacity has been reduced since, in 1991, it was the biggest crowd in the world and the atmosphere was something we have very rarely seen.
Pravin Amre, one of the heroes for India in that game with a gritty 55, remembered the crowd thus: “Andrew Hudson, who opened for South Africa, and I met up for dinner later that evening. And he was candid in telling me that he got out in the very first over for he was totally awestruck by the crowd. He had never seen a crowd as huge and as loud, and it was something he hadn’t expected. Eden Gardens was like a giant colosseum and it wasn’t easy. Hudson was as much dismissed by Kapil Dev as the crowd.”
Ali Bacher, who managed the team, had this to say: “When Andrew Hudson was walking out with Jimmy Cook, I could sense he was apprehensive. He had never seen anything like that, ever. None of us had. The stadium was packed to capacity and each one was screaming in celebration. From the time we landed to the time we stepped out for the game, there were people everywhere. I will not be exaggerating if I say this was one of the biggest crowds I have ever seen. Andrew got out not because of the bowling, but because of this crowd, and it was a dramatic start to the series.”
My personal memory of that match is equally interesting. Mid-match, I had walked out for lunch at the Mohun Bagan Club tent to have my favourite stew and toast. As I was walking back, I heard a roar turn into a whimper. As I rushed back in, India were already one down. Allan Donald had been unleashed, and a new star had emerged. It was the brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar and the determination of Amre that saved the day for India and won the game. But the enduring memory remains that of Donald running into Tendulkar and 100,000 people roaring in delight.
“In every sense it was historic,” said Dr Bacher. “We knew it was an important moment in the history of cricket, but we did not imagine it to be this big. It was a very special occasion. Everyone who was there will remember this game. And for us in South Africa, it will forever be a very special moment in our history.”
Let’s hope we have a strong crowd for the Test match as well.
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