Wills Cup Snippets (27 October 1998)
Nearly thirty-seven thousand spectators missed several lakh heartbeats as some bulbs of the already famous floodlight system at the Bangabandhu National Stadium suddenly went off at 6.55 pm
27-Oct-1998
27 October 1998
Wills Cup Snippets
Syed Ashfaqul Haque
Six Minute Suspense
Nearly thirty-seven thousand spectators missed several lakh
heartbeats as some bulbs of the already famous floodlight system at
the Bangabandhu National Stadium suddenly went off at 6.55 pm.
As voltage tripped at the power sub-station adjacent to the stadium,
the floodlights, capable of generating 2000 lux, all at once looked
very dim, leaving the organisers in cold sweat.
With the proceedings coming to an abrupt halt, three ministers
literally started running towards the power-substation near the Gate
No 16. Obaidul Quader, State Minister for Youth and Sports, Saber
Hossain, State Minister for Shipping, and Rafiqul Islam, State
Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, rushed to the centre where
they got hold of Siemens technician, who was in a hectic quandary to
redeem the situation. Much to the relief of millions, he could get
things in order within only six minutes. The statesmantrio then
repeatedly requested the embarrassed technician to be very careful to
avert further debacle. Siemens earned tons of tribute from the
visitors and experts for installing at Bangabandhu what they said was
the world's best floodlight facilities.
But, the six-minute break proved vital for the Sri Lankans, who were
reeling at 35 for 3 in the 9th over. Captain Ranatunga and
Kaluwitharana could get enough time to draw up a plan to guide the
team into safety. The two then featured in a match-winning
partnership of 127 runs.
The government however has formed a 3-member committee to look into
the incident, which will submit its report within three days.
Sorry Sanath
The Dhaka soil simply doesn't suit Sanath Jayasuriya. The Sri Lankan
ball-bashing opener once again failed to live up to his reputation at
the Dhaka Stadium when he got himself out for a duck. It was
Jayasuriya's third appearance at the big bowl. Earlier, he played for
local giants Mohammedan Sporting Club in three matches. Much to the
frustration of his fans here, he was out for 4, 8 and 17. Jayasuriya
however gets another chance to break the Dhaka jinx when his team
meets South Africa in the first semifinal on October 30. So, good
luck next time.
Captain Cool
The day belonged to the Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga. Coming in
at a crucial stage of the game, with his team reeling at 5 for 3, the
cool captain of the islanders smashed an unbeaten 90 to stymie the
spirited men of Stephen Fleming. Ranatunga, who lost 10 kgs in six
months, is no longer a burly man. The 34-year-old ran like a spring
chicken while stealing a cheeky single and showed no sign of fatigue
under the scorching heat of 40 degrees Celsius.
Good Luck de Silva
Sri Lankan vice-captain Aravinda de Silva is all set to call his
bachelor's days over. The lucky bride-to-be is a model girl, Sarita
Rajendran. De Silva made the engagement announcement a few days back.
But she won't be happy. He got a duck at Dhaka.
Another four in town
The second batch of the Australian team arrived in Dhaka yesterday.
Four more Australians - fast bowler Brendon Julian, Damien Martin,
Andrew Simonds and wicketkeeper Adam Gillchrist, flew in from down
under to join Michael Bevan and Brad Young. One-day specialist Bevan
and spinner Young arrived in the city the day before. The rest of the
Australian team, which was touring Pakistan, will reach the capital
today. But the Australian Test captain Mark Taylor will have to grace
the seat at the gallery this time because of his country's 'one
team-two captain policy'. Steve Waugh, his deputy in the Test team,
will lead the Australians against India on October 28.
In the same flight
Pakistan, who managed to clinch a draw in the third and final Test
against Australia, will board the same flight along with the
Australians. The Pakistanis will face the West Indies, who are
already in the town, on October 29.
Houseful
Ticket touts took a time-out yesterday. Spectators were packed like
sardines at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, watching the opening
match of world champions Sri Lanka against the spirited New
Zealanders. In the previous matches hundreds of black marketers were
seen busy in doing brisk business, selling gallery tickets of Taka
120 and Taka 150 for Taka 200 plus. Only a few seats in the
International Gallery were seen vacant at the 37000-capacity stadium.
Sri Lankan Wave
The islanders made the eastern International Gallery their base. They
waved flags to the full and sang songs to their hearts content. The
music was very much Bangladeshi but the language was obviously not.
The thrill in their ranks was sky-high after New Zealand returned
home cheaply. But it slumped to sub-zero after Sanath, Attapatu and
De Silva were dismissed with five on the card. Well, Arjuna and
Kaluwitharana gave enough reasons for the crest to rise again.
Tit for Tat
Some 'stupid' spectators in the eastern gallery threw fireballs on to
the ground. This annoyed the more sensible of the fans, of which
there was vast majority. To teach the pranksters a lesson with the
same exercise, thousands of fans in good humour pelted empty plastic
bottles, banana peel and whatnot towards them. The fireballs stopped
for good.
Caring Saber
Saber Hossain, the young president of Bangladesh Cricket Board, has
finally visited the media box to inquire about the facilities
provided to journalists. The professionals working at the media box
and inside the stadium had been complaining about some problems and
treatment meted out by some Board officials the past few days. Clad
in white pajama and punjabi the handsome Board president talked to
the journalists, inquired about the prevailing problems and assured
them of looking into them immediately.
Source:: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)