Dhoni frustrated with lack of crowd for Tests in Mohali, Praises the B'lore crowd attendance

[fineleg]

'Give Tests to venues that care about Test match cricket' : MS Dhoni MS Dhoni has asked for Tests to be played at venues that have a history of supporting the format with big attendances, and has appreciated the support received from the Bangalore crowd during the course of India's victory against Australia. Of India's 10 Test venues - Hyderabad being the newest - Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Mohali and to an extent Delhi are known for their lukewarm response to Test cricket. "Maybe some of these centres where people come up to see Test matches can be given preference over some other centres where people don't come in large numbers to watch Test matches," Dhoni said. "After all, if taken in the right sense, we are the performers in the circus, but you need the circus to be full. It [this comment] should be taken in the right sense." Dhoni and his men liked what they saw in Bangalore. Three of the days - the weekend and the final day - were almost sold out. "It really helps the players who are on the field," Dhoni said. "Frankly speaking, in the 45th or 50th over, when the fast bowler comes for his second or third spell, it's the crowd that gets him going, apart from the fact that he is supposed to do well for the team and the country. You need some kind of a motivation, and especially because we're used to playing IPL and ODIs in front of 30000 or 40000 or 50000 people, you want that kind of a crowd." Throughout the last five days, the spectators have been India's 12th man. They cheered every special effort by the Indians, appealed when the bowler appealed, got off their seats when Sachin Tendulkar and other batsmen played good strokes, and appreciated every good effort by the fielders. Some of them booed the Australians, but many were appreciative. "It was a remarkable crowd," Dhoni said. "Throughout the five days there were good crowds, and on the final day it was literally house full. You could see as many people in the stands as in a Twenty20 or ODI match. They supported good cricket more than anything else." They did get their money's worth. Not only did they watch their home side complete a clean sweep against Australia, they saw Tendulkar go level with Virender Sehwag as the Indian with the most double-centuries; they saw Cheteshwar Pujara, the debutant, play an innings he wouldn't mind as his epitaph; they saw M Vijay, a stylish batsman, add substance to his game at Test level; they saw Ricky Ponting bat beautifully but fall disappointingly short; they saw Zaheer Khan and Ben Hilfenhaus create wickets on flat pitches. The Indian team thanked the crowd with a deserved lap of the ground.

[fineleg]

I think Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai, B'lore should be given Test matches. Any other venues?

[Zap_Brannigan]

Have just those 4 for tests...if the other venues wants tests, then ask them to sod off!! Its pathetic when we cant get a seat for an ODI 10 minutes after the tickets booths open, we have to see empty stands for tests. I remember when i couldnt land a single ticket for tests in chennai but if i was born in Mohali, I probably just could have walked in without a ticket.

[gaurav92]

Even Kanpur has great atmosphere for test cricket, but the track isn't the best :--D.

[Rajiv]

I get the point but how can we play tests in the same grounds over and over. The Association should do something? .better seating, cheaper tickets what not..but metros will always a big crowd We see ppl in NZ and SA come for tests like a picnic, so we need to change few things around

[nballa]

yes dhoni, everyone should come watch test matches during weekdays in the middle of the day. i mean what's the point of graduating high school. everyone's pretty much guaranteed call center jobs anyways.

[Rajiv]

Does everyone work in a Call Centre in B'lore, work all night and come to the ground for cricket j/k :--D

[ravishingravi]

I get the point but how can we play tests in the same grounds over and over. The Association should do something? .better seating, cheaper tickets what not..but metros will always a big crowd We see ppl in NZ and SA come for tests like a picnic, so we need to change few things around

Happens in Australia and England. They don't seem to be complaining.

[Laaloo]

Wait till you see the crowds for the NZ series. The gujjus are gonna be busy doing garba. And the hyderabadis are gonna be busy making biryani all day.

[Zap_Brannigan]

I get the point but how can we play tests in the same grounds over and over.

It happens in Aus, SA,SL,WI,NZ and Eng or pretty much everywhere else. Chennai has hosted 2 test matches in the last 5 years, both in 2008 and 1 ODI (plus 2 Asia Vs Africa ) in the last 7 years. I am pretty sure they can do with more games.

[Pak_Forever]

props to Bangalore crowd. It was refreshing to see people turning up in numbers in India for a Test match. Test cricket needs such crowd regularly especially at a place like India.

[yoda]

Serves the BCCI right for ignoring the traditional test venues in the name of rotation.

[Deleted_User_1]

East and west, Eden Gardens is the BEST!!!! Kolkata Mumbai Chennai Bangalore then Delhi and Kanpur. We should not host tests in any other cities.

[spectre]

Pathetic rotation policy this All these Tier 2 centres should be stripped of test matches and only be given ODi matches Test matches should be mostly held only in Chennai Kolkatta Mumbai Bangalore

[Gunner_Mania]

Bangalore: population not mentioned on wikipedia :cantstop: or I just couldn't see it upfront :winky:

5840155 - You just couldn't see it on Wiki

[King Tendulkar]

Eden Gardens shouls always get a test. The place rocks

[kabira]

Wait till you see the crowds for the NZ series. The gujjus are gonna be busy doing garba. And the hyderabadis are gonna be busy making biryani all day.

Garbas will be over in 3 days. Laaloobhai. You will definately see crowd in Ahmedabad, but not as big as Bangalore. I think this is Dhoni's attempt to bring more crowd in other venues, Good job. One thing they could do is distribute free tickets to schools.

[spectre]

I aint blaming any city or their grounds. Offcourse they cant be compared to metros. Just that it spoils the test match experience seeing them played on almost empty stadiums Mohali is a wonderful ground, but not for test cricket hope you get my point

Crowd depends on population of the cities Mohali : around 200,000 1/5 of chandigarh Chennai : 4.34 Million Kolkata: 15 million Mumbai : 14 million Bangalore: population not mentioned on wikipedia :cantstop: or I just couldn't see it upfront :winky:

[Andy]

Eden Gardens should get more tests. Dont know whats wrong with BCCI they dont consider it good enough.

[King Tendulkar]

Eden gardens is the key. 90,000 for 5 days going nuts. Yes they throw things on pitch etc but so what at least its an atmosphere:hysterical: And yes they may well burn the stadium down if we lose, but as we are so good now and dont think we will lose. I love their passion! EDEN GARDENS BCCI , WAKE UP!!