Eyewitness at Eden: Stands provide more intrigue than pitch during Pakistan vs Bangladesh

Matchdays at the Eden Gardens are special, not least because you can sense the electrifying atmosphere from a few miles away. As you approach the stadium, cars start moving slower than humans as roads are chock-a-block. It was quite a surprise then that my ride to Eden on October 31 was over in a jiffy, with little to no traffic to encounter. With Pakistan taking on Bangladesh in the second match of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Kolkata, not more than a few hundred people were in and around the stadium on a mildly hot autumn afternoon.

Upon arriving at Eden a little after 1pm, I took the opportunity to go for a stroll in an attempt to sense the buzz. There was hardly any excitement opposite Calcutta High Court, but as I kept walking towards the clubhouse gates, the number of green jerseys increased. The green of Bangladesh, not Pakistan. Bangladeshi fans, complete with flags, chants and some toy tigers, had started gathering in decent numbers, cheering way out of earshot of the players warming up inside. Usually, Eden before a big game is surrounded on the outside by vendors selling water, snacks, face paint and replica jerseys. On this occasion, I could only spot a solitary woman with Indian kits, who was duly asked by security to pack her bags and leave before the police intervened. On seeing this, I made my way inside the stadium, hoping ICC merchandise would be available there or somewhere along the way. But alas, there was none.

While Eden looked beautiful with its orange and yellow seats… few had arrived to sample the beauty in person

The food stalls, though, had far more going on. Everything from KFC to Domino’s to Wow! Momo outlets were present, alongside the local vendors and their rolls, pav bhaji, chowmein, patties, etc. Several soft drinks booths were also in operation, as was a water stall set up by the CAB, providing free water to the entire crowd. Six canisters were in place, so the queues were not too long and everyone had their fill in glasses provided beside the water dispensers. There was also a fun reaction game at one of the non-food stalls, but more people seemed drawn towards a Virtual Reality (VR) cricket stall, where the highest-scoring players were getting a seat upgrade.

As the toss approached, I sauntered to my seat, but was disappointed to find the stands exceedingly empty. While Eden looked beautiful with its orange-and-yellow clubhouse seats (as per the World Cup protocol), a revamped clubhouse and the CAB logo shining in blue, few had arrived to sample that beauty in person. Gradually, the Bangladeshi supporters, many of whom I had seen outside, started to trundle in.

Firoj Al Mamun, a 24-year-old computer science student from the town of Mirzapur in Bangladesh, was wearing Bangladesh’s 2021 T20 World Cup jersey and said: “I’ve come all the way from my hometown just to watch this match. I hope Bangladesh play well. I really miss Tamim [Iqbal]. He should’ve been here. With him, we wouldn’t have struggled so much at the start of the innings.” Asked about tickets, Firoj said that he had booked them online and picked them up from the Mohammedan Sporting Club grounds and that it was a hassle-free experience. Firoj was on his second visit to Kolkata, having already visited the Indian Museum and tried chicken biryani. “I’ll try the mutton one tonight,” he added.

‘Most people have been really welcoming in India, but our experience in Pune was a forgettable one’

A little away from Firoj, I met a Bangladeshi father-son duo who preferred not to share their names. “We’ve been to several World Cups but this has been the most harrowing experience so far. We had a smooth experience during the FIFA World Cups in Qatar (2022) and Russia (2018). But we barely got our visas for this one and were worried we wouldn't make it in time for the match,” the son said. They were in a group of 12, including friends and family. “We couldn’t buy tickets on BookMyShow. So, we had to look for various other sources. After paying a bit more, we did get hold of the tickets. But I still don’t understand how BookMyShow shows all the tickets to be sold out and yet most of the stands here are empty. It’s really sad to see some tickets being sold at half their original price outside the stadium,” sighed the father, who had also attended the India-Bangladesh encounter in Pune earlier in the tournament: “Most people have been really welcoming in India, but our experience in Pune was a forgettable one. There were Indian fans around us who were slandering us and that was unacceptable. We have come to watch cricket and support our country, and not to be called names and put down just because of our faith.”

Having gathered enough info from Bangladeshi fans, I turned my attention to supporters in a different shade of green. Once I approached them, I discovered that there were members of a tennis ball team from Odisha, who had made the trip to Kolkata to root for Pakistan. But why Pakistan? “Well, we had to support someone and it’s better to support the winners,” said one of them with an unusual amount of confidence in Babar Azam and Co. before a ball was bowled. As the national anthems got underway, all the Bangladeshis rose to their feet and sang their hearts out. Sadly, their passion was not matched by their team on the field. Bangladesh were reduced to 23 for three in no time, with Shaheen Shah Afridi channeling his inner Wasim Akram. As Bangladeshi batters came and went in quick succession, several Bangladeshi fans hurled abuses at them. A fan sitting right behind me complained of “going through so much only for his team to not turn up”. “They’re playing Test cricket… will score 10 runs in 10 overs… give me a Pakistan jersey for God’s sake,” was among the comments I heard, before Mahmudullah began to steady the ship along with Litton Das.

Indian fans cheering for Babar Azam!

Mahmudullah’s number 30 was the most common jersey at Eden on Tuesday afternoon, and the veteran batter was living up to expectations. After he reached 50, I suddenly heard someone say: “If Mahmudullah scores another 100 (he had notched up three figures against South Africa earlier), Bangladesh will post a fighting total.” Lo and behold, Mahmudullah’s stumps went for a cartwheel on the very next ball, thanks to some devilish swing bowling by Afridi. The man who had jinxed Mahmudullah received his fair share of glares.

As loud as the Bangladeshi fans were, they were practically silent between the end of their team’s innings and the fall of the first Pakistani wicket. Which only happened after Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman had put on 128 in pursuit of a modest target of 205. The wicket of Shafique brought two quick but different roars. The first was from Bangladeshi supporters as they saw the back of Shafique. But the second was a louder roar for Babar Azam, coming from Indians who were welcoming the Pakistani skipper to the crease. Soon enough, chants of “Pakistan Zindabaad” began to resonate from select pockets of Eden. I had to remind myself that I had not been magically transported to Lahore or Karachi.

By the time Zaman got out in the 28th over after a fiery knock of 81, the game was as good as over. Even though Babar could not trouble the scorers beyond nine, Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed polished off the rest of the runs to give Pakistan a seven-wicket victory with more than 17 overs to spare. Safe to say that of all my Eden experiences thus far, this was the most one-sided contest of them all. In parts, I was more intrigued by what was happening in the stands than the action on the pitch. For large chunks of the match, it did not feel like a World Cup showdown. Having said that, I do not think I would feel the same way this Sunday, when potential history beckons at Eden. When I will no longer remain neutral!