Kolkata: Both India & Bangladesh players remain at their team hotel and India Head Coach Ravi Shastri too didn’t went to the Stadium to have a look at the pitch as their flight got delayed but the preparations for India’s first Day/Night at Eden Gardens as it’s just a couple of days away.
Since the day BCCI President Sourav Ganguly made it official that Eden Gardens will host India’s first ever Day/Night Test , CAB has dished out gala plans to make the match special starting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina confirming her presence on Day 1 along with a clutch of sports stars like badminton world champion P.V. Sindhu, chess ace Viswanathan Anand, tennis sensation Sania Mirza among those to be present. Beside them India’s Home Minister Amit Shah & West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were also scheduled to come on Day 1, but the news is coming that Amit Shah will be coming on Day 2 of the Test match due to some personal reasons.
The historic match will kickstart with Army paratroopers expected to fly into Eden to hand over a pink ball each to the two captains just before the toss.
This will be followed by the ringing of the Eden Bell by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
During the 20-minute tea break, former captains and a clutch of sports stars will be taken out on carts making a round of the ground along the boundary lines.
During the 40-minute dinner break, CAB has organised a talk show featuring the ‘Fabulous Five’ of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman who will walk down the memory lane talking about the 2001 Test win against Australia at the same venue.
On the other hand India Skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane were the first to reach on Tuesday morning with the team following later in the afternoon. Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh and Rohit Sharma are slated to join the team on Wednesday morning.
Shastri and batting coach Vikram Rathour had plans to come to the stadium from the airport but their delayed chartered flight, which also had the Bangladesh team, meant they headed straight to the hotel.
At the Eden, grondstaff were seen working overtime as the 22-yard strip remained under covers. Every corner of the Cricket Association Bengal (CAB), which is undergoing renovation, overflowed with officials attending meetings, journalists following them for scoop and workers running agains time to complete the work in time.
The Eden club house graffiti wore a pink theme, the mascot omnipresent and a pink balloon continuing to float over the colossal stadium.
The turf looked greener than usual and as the sun descended into the horizon and the floodlights came on, Eden seemed to be basking in the glow of something which has never happened before.