India, West Indies teams arrive for ODI opener

Kochi: By the time Ian Bishop stepped out and waited for the TV crew to join him at the Nedumbassery airport lobby, the cricket fans and the media frenzy had begun their chase of the India and West Indies team buses.

The giant Trinidadian had a pensive look on his face akin to his countrymen who arrived a while ago. After the Test debacle, the West Indies entourage seems to have dropped the sort of flamboyance that defines them. Four months before Bishop made his ODI debut in 1988 was when a West Indies team last visited this southernmost state.

When Phil Simmons scored a century to win it for the West Indies 25 years ago, it wasn't Kochi, but the city of Thiruvananthapuram that had welcomed the Caribbean party. Sir Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge played then, and to imagine that Sachin Tendulkar who made his international debut a year later has now retired, explains how life has come full circle here.

Not a single player in the current West Indies squad has played in Kochi. Neither Chris Gayle nor Dwayne Bravo, were part of the Bangalore or Chennai teams that met the now defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala in the 2011 IPL season here.

Team India led by M.S. Dhoni, who arrived by the same chartered flight, were comparatively pleasant. Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu arrived late in the evening.

MASTER'S MAGIC WHEN SACHIN THE SPINNER MESMERISED KOCHI

MASTER'S MAGIC WHEN SACHIN THE SPINNER MESMERISED KOCHI
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?In Sachin Tendulkar's epic journey there is a unique place for the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi and that memory of his genius will now reflect on the walls of this venue on the eve of the India vs West Indies ODI series opener.

The VIP area in the south end has been rechristened as 'Sachin Tendulkar Pavilion' and India skipper M.S. Dhoni will inaugurate it on Wednesday. In Kochi on April 1, 1998 Sachin delivered his best ever ODI spells of 5/32 that dismantled Australia.

He would return seven years later with a maverick 5/50 to outwit Pakistan. Perhaps it's the only venue in the whole of the country, where Sachin is revered as a bowler. The stadium owners, the Greater Cochin Development Authority, say they want to announce to the world this unique bond Sachin had with the venue. The GCDA and Kerala Cricket Association have confirmed a host of memorabilia will be placed inside the pavilion.

An autographed bat and a no. 10 jersey are among the exhibits. Rare pictures of the Master Blaster, including those from his performances at the venue, two six-foot bats that hold the signatures of India and Windies players will also be placed in the pavilion.