There was a strong sense of deja vu at the beautiful IIT-Sanmar cricket ground, when the Indian cricket team practised there for three days before its all important clash on 20 March with West Indies in the league stage of the 2011 World Cup at Chepauk, Chennai.
For Indian stars Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, it was back to familiar surroundings, for they had trained here before. Excerpts from an article in The Deccan Chronicle, Chennai: “It will be an honour to host the Indian team. We have prepared six wickets, three on the main square, and I am sure the facilities will be up to the mark.The ICC team had visited most of the venues in the city before deciding. All the pre-requisites, such as massage room, bowling machines and dressing rooms are available and ready to use,” said Bharath Reddy, vice-president- corporate, Chemplast.
“We are thankful to the TNCA for providing us an opportunity and to the management at IIT.With security and other details involved, we had our apprehensions but they agreed immediately and have giventhe ground rent free for the fi ve days,” added Bharath.The English country style pavilion area and lush outfi eld will match any venue of repute and full credit to Chemplast and IIT for having maintained the facilities well. There has been no specifi c request from the Indian team management as far as the type of wickets is concerned, according to Bharath.
“We have tried to give a bit of everything. The centre wicket will also have nets to help the players get a match feel. The ground staff under the supervision of former Kerala batsman Ajay Kudua have worked hard to provide good sporting tracks.”
Located in the heart of the city, the venue is a rare commodity. Declared open by the legendary Neil Harvey in 1998, the ground maintains a classical touch much like the stylish Aussie southpaw who enthralled many with his panache.
“The Indian team has a close connection with the venue. It all started here for Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. The duo had their fi rst camp here at the IIT before their maiden tour to Kenya. Another key member of the side, Harbhajan Singh attended trials to join Chemplast in 1997. He was selected but an offer closer to home from Air India made him shift in 1998, months before his Test debut against Australia in March that year.
Off-spinner R Ashwin, who is expected to make his World Cup debut at MAC, blossomed as a cricketer while turning out for Alwarpet Cricket Club (Jolly Rovers and Alwarpet are the two senior division teams owned and managed by Chemplast Sanmar). Ashwin made four successive hundreds and managed more than 40 wickets to force his way into the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy side.”