(Video) Roaring Indian Cricket Fans Bring Their ‘A Game’ to Kanpur

Green Park Stadium in Kanpur goes berserk for the 3rd ODI between India A and Australia A.

(Video) Roaring Indian Cricket Fans Bring Their ‘A Game’ to Kanpur

Green Park Stadium, Kanpur (via Kanpur Tourism)

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The Indian crowd is known for its passionate appreciation for the game of cricket. Stadiums more often than not are flooded when the big superstars of the country are out there playing with big banners and flags swirling around the ground.

One might understand the superstar culture of the country and also the fact that if stars like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are playing, the stadiums are bound to get filled. However, what the Green Park stadium in Kanpur saw on Sunday, 5th of October was out of the ordinary.

It was not an IPL game; it was not the Indian senior team’s match and nor was it the retired legends coming back to the sport to entertain the crowd. Yet the Kanpur stadium was jam packed with supporters cheering for the game that was taking place.

It was an India A vs Australia A ODI game. However, the crowd that stepped made it feel like something grander than a World Cup occasion. The feeling was more different as a few days’ prior in the Test match between India and West Indies in Ahmedabad, not even 10% of the seats were filled. Experts and analysts couldn’t quite figure out what was the reason for such an outpouring crowd in an unofficial match.

The players on display were the match winners from the recently concluded Asia Cup. The likes of Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh were playing from India A.

They are popular figures with the stage that they get in the IPL and Indian cricket but not global superstars as yet for the stadium to be so filled. Nevertheless, the love that the Green Park crowd showered in the match was much appreciated by all as it elevated the level of the game.

Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer shine as India A clinch series

The decider of the 3 match ODI series was played on Sunday in Kanpur with the series level at 1-1 prior to it. Australia was put into bat and looked in disarray at 135/6 with hardly any batting to come. That is when all rounder Liam Scott and captain Jack Edwards stitched an inspiring partnership of 152 off just 123 balls before Scott was dismissed.

Captain Shreyas Iyer stars in win over Australia A.
Shreyas Iyer (via ESPNcricinfo)

Australia miraculously managed to put up a score of 317 on the board from a rather tricky situation. The pick of the bowlers was Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana who both took 3 wickets a piece. India started well in their chase but lost Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma at a crucial stage in a span of two overs.

However, Prabhsimran Singh formed match winning partnerships with captain Shreyas Iyer and Riyan Parag to bring the Men in Blue back into the game. Singh eventually got to his 100 with Iyer and Parag both getting 62 runs each.

India did lose a few wickets right at the end but Vipraj Nigam‘s late flourish pushed the team over the line with just two wickets to spare. India won the match and also claimed the series 2-1. There was a lot of talk about both Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma making the ODI side that travels to Australia; however the pair couldn’t make the cut.

Sharma didn’t get enough in both innings and Varma despite a good innings of 94 in the second ODI didn’t make the final cut. The pair though would be donning their India jerseys for the 5 T20Is in Australia post the One Dayers. It would be great test for the young India side to play on the bouncy pitches in Australia.

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