Aussie cricket fans, where the hell are you? India’s victory over Australia’s in Saturday’s ODI was remarkable for two things – the ease of the nine-wicket win and the massive support for the visitors among the sellout crowd at the SCG.
It was a sea of blue as Indian fans swept up just about every available ticket to farewell batting giants Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in their final appearances in Australia. The duo didn’t disappoint, putting on an unbeaten second-wicket partnership of 168 to prevent a series clean sweep.
It was a sea of blue as Indian fans took over the SCG to farewell batting giants Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (pictured right) in their final appearances in Australia. (Images: Getty Images)
Sharma finished unbeaten on 121 and Kohli 74 not out, much to the delight of the big, noisy and colourful contingent of Indian fans. Australia won the series 2-1 but that matter little to the crowd, dominated by Indian shirts, flags and banners.
The massive SCG turnout followed similar strong pro-India crowds in Perth and Adeliade for the first two games of the series. “We’ve loved coming to this country and playing in front of such big crowds,” Kohli said.
“We’ve played some of our best here as well so thank you very much for welcoming us so well. You guys are brilliant.” Australia fans were few and far between among the 40,000-strong crowd, with suggestions they were either too slow to buy tickets, disinterested in the 50-over format or more focused on the hyped-up Ashes series.
Kerry O’Keefe stunned at SCG crowd
It prompted former Test spinner and Fox Cricket commentator Kerry O’Keeffe to remark: “I’ve been coming to this ground for 58 years and I’ve never seen a crowd that’s more cheering for the opposition than I see tonight.” Co-commentator Mark Waugh added: “I haven’t quite seen an atmosphere like this for a long time…the away team seems like the home team.
“There’s a suburb called Harris Park in Sydney and they call it ‘Little India’ but I reckon they’ve moved it to the SCG tonight. I always get the feeling for India it’s a home game wherever they play. They seem to drag the crowd along.”
India’s pulling power is a godsend for Cricket Australia, with CEO Todd Greenberg openly talking about luring Kohli back to play in the BBL in the future. “In the short to medium term, I think it is realistic over time. We’re going to keep the dialogue open,” he said.
“Ravichandran Ashwin coming (to Sydney Thunder this season) is a really important moment for the BBL and it will highlight the strength I think of bringing Indian players into the league.” Kohli and Sharma will return home ahead of the five-game T20 series between Australia and India, beginning on Wednesday in Canberra.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli farewell the SCG.