A lesson in cricket
Namaste!
Over the past few months, I have been trying many things from my “Bombay Bucket list”. If you know me, this does not come as a surprise. In each city that I have lived in throughout the Emerging Leaders Program I have created a list of must-do items (read: eating) before I move on to the next location. This helps to me put myself out there and try new things that are unique to that area.I sent my Bombay Bucket list to my friend Rashmi, who, in typical Nielsen fashion, sent it back in color-coded excel formatting.
The list has been fun to tackle with one exception. I was a bit too confident and tried some Indian street food. I do not regret it because it was delicious, but it certainly provided me with more adventure than I had anticipated. My next item was much safer on my stomach: a Mumbai Indians cricket match! Before I share my experience, I think it would be smart to share a crash course in cricket:
Source: http://www.teachindiaproject.org/Cricket_101.htm
Now that you have the basics, the saga begins! The stadium is quite the trek from our Nielsen office, so my colleagues and I headed out with a three hour cushion before the match began. We arrived to the area with half an hour to spare. I was relieved to know that we would not miss the start and had ample time to stop by the gift shop before we reach our seats. What I did not realize is the utter chaos that is Wankhede Stadium on match nights.
We drove around in very slow in circles during rush hour to try to find Gate 6. You are not allowed to enter any gate that is not designated on your ticket for crowd control reasons. We passed signs that said, “This way to gates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8”. We were flabbergasted. It made no sense, but by the time we got to our seats I realized that I should just stop questioning certain things here! Finally, as we heard the match begin we got out at Gate 4 and asked a policeman where Gate 6 was. He explained that we needed to walk down the alley to Gate 4, take a set of old stairs up and over the train tracks, take the stairs down, walk around a bus stop, then take a different set of stairs back over the train to reach Gate 6. It took everything in my power to not say, “Are you kidding?”
We dodged people selling flags and trying to paint our faces and made it to Gate 6 after half an hour of searching for it. When we reached security there was a sign saying no bags, no water bottles, and no cameras. Three strikes for me. I bid farewell to my cold bottle of water and hoped for the best. A security guard opened my bag and lifted out my camera and said “This is a camera,” expecting me to allow them to take it. I played it cool and said, “Yes, it is a camera.” They shook their heads and gave both my bag and camera to me, allowing me to enter. Breanne 1, Mumbai Indians 0.
After a quick stop to the merchandise stand we made our way to our seats. The stadium was packed, so we were lucky to even secure tickets to the match! I found out(and experienced) that it was nearly the end of the season because the weather becomes unbearably hot. Hot meaning 95F with 80% humidity and thousands of bodies packed into the stadium. Another learning I had was that bottles are not sold in the stadium, including water bottles. All drinks in the stadium are from the tap, which contains water that is considered a no-no for our Western bellies. This meant that yours truly could not have anything to drink until after the match ended.
Weather and lack of water aside, the match was fascinating! It almost felt like I was back at Ryan Field in Evanston cheering on the Northwestern Wildcats. The fans were full of spirit despite the heat and each time Mumbai Indians scored the crowd erupted into cheers and dancing! We played the top team in the league and Mumbai was expected to lose. I was lucky enough to have very patient teachers about how cricket works and after a few plays I had the hang of it!
My coworkers and I stayed for the first half of the match, but by 11pm we were ready to find some air conditioning and I was excited for some bottled water. Cricket matches are at minimum four hours long, which seems even longer after a day at the office and a lot of travel time. I headed home and when I walked into the lobby of my building two hours later in my Mumbai Indians jersey, the security guard said “Why did you leave?! Mumbai just won!!!!!” It was a huge upset!
I highly recommend that anyone visiting India should check out an IPL cricket match. Aside from Bollywood movies, cricket is one of the biggest unifiers in the country. People from all backgrounds, religions, and genders have a love of the game that is infectious! It was certainly a highlight of my time here in Mumbai and while I might not be a Mumbai Indians super fan, I will root for them at any chance I get back in the States!
Cheers,
B
The stadium
Some team spirit (the security man was not enthused)
Some of my Nielsen pals