AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kumble strikes and it's time for Indians to celebrate the dismissal of Smith. At right, spectators  are having a jolly good time.  Photos: TS & R K

        All roads in Chennai led to Chepauk yesterday, it could be said. A couple of hours before the match, the areas in and around the stadium were teeming with people, waiting to getting into the Stadium. The wait had ended. It was over a year since the city hosted an international cricket match and those previously had been rain-hit.

        After all that, expectations of a full game were there, because the tie was being held in January, a relatively quiet month (monsoon-wise that is). The spectators were expecting a rain of runs on a good pitch and their prayers were more or less answered. Sent in to bat, the Indians were off to a flyer, courtesy Robin Uthappa, who chose the occasion to unfurl his aggressive instincts and clean-hitting. Accumulating runs at a furious pace, he sped to 70 off just 39 balls before falling.

        'Uthappa, Uthappa', chanted the near-capacity crowd as the Karnataka right-hander went berserk, slamming boundaries and a couple of sixers, in the process making the West Indies bowling appear easy to handle.

        The audience loved every moment until the wickets began to fall. A loud roar greeted Sachin Tendulkar, who walked in at the fall of Uthappa's wicket and an even bigger one rent the air when the maestro reached his fifty.

        All good things have to come to an end and it did for the crowd when the Indian batsmen returned to the pavilion in a procession. The crowd went silent and things livened up when the Indians took the field. When Gayle fell off the first delivery of the innings, it appeared as if the house would come down as the cheering increased. Again, Sreesanth's waywardness silenced them. As the match slipped out of the Indians' grasp, the crowd fell silent and many chose to head home early.

        STAR POWER

        Any sporting event in the city is also a time when celebrities-spotting is in vogue. At the Chennai Open tennis tournament early this month, any celebrity in the crowd would be found out by the shutter-bugs. It is no different at Chidambaram stadium yesterday. Actor Rajnikanth, who is known for his reclusive ways, was seen with his family, watching intently as India and West Indies battled it out on the ground.