Overawed by the occasion and electrifying audience here at Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday, Karnataka's celebrated heroes ufffd Syed Kirmani, Javagal Srinath and Robin Uthappa ufffd said the atmosphere was very similar to the infamous 1996 World Cup fixture against archrivals, Pakistan
Overawed by the occasion and electrifying audience here at Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday, Karnataka's celebrated heroes ufffd Syed Kirmani, Javagal Srinath and Robin Uthappa ufffd said the atmosphere was very similar to the infamous 1996 World Cup fixture against archrivals, Pakistan.
Srinath, who played in that quarter-final game, said the passion displayed by the crowds had done enough to silence the controversy surrounding the ticketing fiasco. "Honestly, I was the happiest man in the world when the match finally got underway. I was desperately waiting for the game to start ufffd so we could put all the controversies behind us.
"To see people line up the streets in and around the stadium four hours prior to the game gave me great satisfaction. This will go down as one of the best atmospheres witnessed here. It brought back memories of our game against Pakistan," Srinath told MiD DAY.
Legendary wicketkeeper, Kirmani, said a lot has changed since 1996, but the passion for the game was the same. "Walking into this ground feels a little different, but the passion of the Bangalore crowds remains the same. We've always had some of the best crowds," heu00a0 said.
MiD DAY also spotted swashbuckling batsman Robin Uthappa, who while seated in a hospitality box with his friends, yelled out that this was the best cricket crowds in the world ufffd "You can travel the world, but you won't find too many crowds that make this sort of noise. You can hear the sound from at least three km away from the ground. In the IPL, I'm going to miss playing here," Uthappa said with a laugh. "I was at the boundary as a ball boy during that game against Pakistan (in 1996). Growing up, obviously that was the best game I had witnessed. Now, watching Sachin play like this has given this city the most satisfaction in a long time," added Uthappa.
