Five things that lifted me on a spirit-sapping evening at Sahara Stadium, Pune

Add a light screen of fog and a cool evening breeze to the already beautiful stands and outfield, just another evening at Subrata Roy Sahara stadium

3. Mexican waves:

Watching sport on TV, one of the things that always awed me was the Mexican wave. When the cheering crowd rises and settles in their seats in a perfectly rhythmic manner carrying the crest of the cheer across the stadium, I couldn’t help but feel how all the people in the crowd looked like cogs that are part of one giant mechanism. But, it was only yesterday that I learnt that it wasn’t all as easy and effortless as appears on TV to start the waves. I was lucky enough to be a part of the bay that was responsible for initiating the waves. My first impression of it was that starting a wave is like kindling a fire with flint and iron – The first few sparks fall, charring the firewood a little before dying down; on your second attempt, you might even see a little ember before it goes down; it’s only on your fourth or fifth that you would be treated to the warmth of a kindling fire. The same was the case with the Mexican waves – in the first few attempts, it barely crossed a handful of bays, but once it caught on, we could sustain three to four continuous laps of waves. On an evening with little to cheer for, the Indian fans found joy watching the waves flow, as kids would, watching a flame grow.