India vs South Africa, Cuttack: Of CSK connection and rowdy crowd

The excitement over India vs South Africa, 2nd T20I in Cuttack soon gave way to anger as India performed badly. (Source: PTI)

Freedom Series or ‘friendship’ series? Barabati offered enough scope for confusion on Monday evening. Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) IPL fate might be hanging in the balance but they made their presence felt as India faced South Africa for the second T20 international. To get to the point, seven players with strong CSK connection were on the field; six still part of the franchise, while one had switched over only two seasons ago. Here’s the break-up. MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravi Ashwin and Mohit Sharma made the Indian half. As for South Africa, Faf du Plessis and Kyle Abbott represented the Chennai brigade. Please allow an extra leeway to incorporate Albie Morkel into the list, for he had been deeply woven into the fabric of the ‘yellow army’ before moving to Royal Challengers Bangalore last year and then up north — to Delhi Daredevils — this term.

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The all-rounder, who has been recalled to the South Africa side for this series after David Wiese suffered a broken hand, deserves the benefit of doubt, especially after his bowling performance. By the way, Morkel played his first T20 international in a little over 18 months. Even Chris Morris had been part of CSK for two seasons before joining Rajasthan Royals; another franchise standing on the precipice.

The Cuttack crowd, however, seemed to be a little unmindful of the club/franchise reunion. Or they just didn’t care. This was the first T20 international at this venue and outside the stadium, the arteries were choked, thanks to snaking queues. Black marketers had a field day — Rs 500 tickets were selling 10 times their original price. Inside, the decibel level was deafening. A turnout of over 45,000 was in high spirits even as India lost wickets at regular intervals. At 45 for four, two CSK stalwarts paired up. Three overs later Dhoni departed. Raina returned close on his heels. The noise transformed into a deafening silence. In the end, anger replaced excitement as a section of the fans resorted to bottle-throwing.