World Cup Tour Diary
Kolkata coloured in Bangladeshi green
Thousands of Bangladeshi fans have arrived in Kolkata to watch their team play in the World Cup
Mohammad Isam
28-Oct-2023
Marquis Street was a river of green jerseys as Bangladeshi fans flocked to Kolkata ahead of their two World Cup games, against Netherlands and Pakistan, in the city. They walked in groups - families, friends, and fan associations - rolling their suitcases, gathering in restaurants, and crowding around mobile stores.
Walking through Marquis Street to the adjacent Mirza Ghalib Street, to Sudder Street, on to the New Market area, and all the way to Park Street, the scene was pretty similar. Thousands of Bangladeshis, and so easy to spot because a lot of them wore different versions of their team's jersey.
A group from Araihazar, Narayanganj, indulged in traditional Bengali sweets. A newly-wed couple had just arrived, though they are not counting this as their honeymoon. There were several cricket club officials milling around too.
Full postCricket, climate and carbon footprint
The air quality in Delhi and Mumbai was far from ideal. But is cricket serious about its role in tackling the climate crisis?
Matt Roller
25-Oct-2023
I arrived in Bengaluru on Sunday and feel like I can breathe again. I had spent five days in Delhi, then six in Mumbai, and the combination of lower temperatures and better air quality over the last 48 hours has been so refreshing: Bengaluru is cool enough to walk around without breaking a sweat within five minutes, and I have been grateful for some fresher air.
My phone's weather app shows me the Air Quality Index (AQI) measurement of whichever city I am in, and in Delhi, it seemed to hover around 300-320. I spent five weeks in Mumbai earlier in the year and hardly noticed the air quality, but was struck by how poor the visibility was when driving to and from the airport in particular and the AQI was pushing 300 every time I checked.
According to a report in the Indian Express, spending a day outside in Mumbai with air quality levels as they are is about as bad for you as smoking five or six cigarettes in a day. At the time of writing in Bengaluru, it is down at 103, which the app describes as "moderately polluted". For comparison's sake, back home in London, the AQI is around 30.
Full postLearning about the Mahatma
Our Bangladesh correspondent visits a museum dedicated to Gandhi, in the building where he once lived and worked in Mumbai
Mohammad Isam
22-Oct-2023
Visiting Mumbai for the World Cup has a touch of magic about it. It is a city steeped in socio-political, cultural and, of course, cricketing history, making it an enticing melting pot for me.
The day after I arrive in Mumbai, my friend and former colleague Abhishek Purohit suggests a visit to Mani Bhavan, which is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. He lived in this very building for 17 years, starting from 1917. I'm very much up for this, so, after a cup of tea at the Stadium Restaurant opposite the Brabourne Stadium, we take a train from Churchgate. On my previous Mumbai visit, we took a train from CST to Ghatkopar one weekday evening. Just for kicks. The crowded train proved to be a physical challenge, but this time, Abhishek assures me, it is going to be mostly empty. We hop off at Grant Road, and walk to the museum in ten minutes.
At first look, Mani Bhavan can pass off as any of the legacy buildings in Mumbai. It is a city that has plenty of restored buildings, including gothic structures and art-deco buildings. We walk through the small reception area and into a big library. We pass a bust of the Mahatma and go upstairs to a gallery that has photos going all the way back to his childhood. I stop to study press clippings from the time of his assassination.
Full postWhen the heart and tummy are nourished in Mumbai
Our English correspondent gets a taste of Parsi Cafe culture in south Bombay
Matt Roller
20-Oct-2023
A late change in my travel itinerary for this tournament meant that I headed straight to Mumbai from Delhi rather than going via Pune. I wasn't complaining: about five weeks in Mumbai earlier this year, during the IPL, and quickly grew to love it - not least for the quality and diversity of the food.
Since arriving on Monday, I've eaten well. I am staying in the south of the city and had a delicious meal at Bombay Brasserie which included two fish dishes; I went back to Trishna for the garlic butter crab; and on Thursday lunchtime, I followed my colleague Nagraj Gollapudi's recommendation and headed to Britannia and Co.
For the uninitiated, this is a Parsi Cafe in the south-east of Mumbai - which Nagraj described to me as "an institution". It is an Iranian-Indian take on an American diner or an East End greasy spoon: it was founded 100 years ago, it only accepts cash, and its motto is: "There is no love greater than the love of eating."
Full postSouthee, Boult & Co light up Sunday afternoon for schoolkids in Chennai
Mitchell, Ravindra and Chapman join in as youngsters get to train and interact with the superstars
Deivarayan Muthu
15-Oct-2023
New Zealand's stars put smiles on the faces of about 50 school kids from UNICEF programmes by playing with them on a muggy Sunday afternoon at Chepauk. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra were among those who trained the kids and interacted with them. PC Prakash, the former Tamil Nadu batter who is currently in charge of the TNCA academy, kept a close watch on the proceedings.
It was a special day for S Mridula, though her No. 1 sport is football rather than cricket. "It was a great experience to share the field with international players during a World Cup at Chepauk," she said. "I've been going for football coaching for five months. My favourite football players are [Lionel] Messi and Neymar, and I don't watch much cricket, but it's nice to be here. In cricket my favourite is [MS] Dhoni, who plays here in Chennai."
For Chapman, the day brought back fond memories of how he fell in love with cricket as a kid.
Full postSearching for green in a universe of blue
There were extremely few Pakistan fans in Ahmedabad. This is the story of how two of them got there
Yash Jha
14-Oct-2023
It's noon in Ahmedabad. I'm standing at the concourse that brings fans up from Gate No. 1 to enter the vast expanse that is the world's biggest cricket stadium, for India versus Pakistan.
Calling what I'm seeing a 'sea' of blue feels like an understatement. This is an ocean of blue jerseys flowing into the stands to witness chapter eight of the most big-ticket (and most lopsided) rivalry there is.
An hour later, I finally spot something not-blue: the now-familiar sight of Bashir Chacha - possibly the only Pakistani fan in Ahmedabad? - draped in his combined Pakistan and India colours. He greets me warmly before being engulfed by Indian fans who want a picture of him.
Full postRiding the Delhi Metro to England's practice session
Our England correspondent recalls chaos on the London Underground, and wonders how the experience is so different in Delhi
Matt Roller
14-Oct-2023
Overcrowding like you've never seen, with hundreds of sweaty, stressed travellers jammed into a single carriage. Noise so loud that you can hardly hear yourself think, let alone listen to music or a podcast through your headphones. Sweltering heat, with temperatures higher than those the European Union stipulates as the maximum for transporting cattle.
Those are among the abiding memories of my year using the hellish Central Line on London's Underground. So why, people of Delhi, does nobody seem to bother using your quick, quiet, clean, air-conditioned and cheap metro system?
This is my first time in the city, and I can see Moolchand station out of the window of my hotel room. After defaulting to an Uber on my first visit to the Arun Jaitley Stadium for India vs Afghanistan, I caught the Purple Line to Delhi Gate last night, en route to England's training session, and wished I had used it on every journey I had taken this week.
Full postBumping into India's Asian Games champions
The lack of buzz surrounding two champion Indian athletes was in stark contrast to the overwhelming attention the cricketers face
Mohammad Isam
12-Oct-2023
A tall man walked down the carpeted walkway at Delhi airport, towards the Chennai-bound aircraft. When he looked up from his phone, the trophy in his hand, the colour of his t-shirt and his physique revealed that he must be someone special. Inside the aircraft there was another person with a similar trophy in her hand, and a t-shirt that suggested that she represents India too.
Someone commented when they walked past some of the seats that they might be athletes. "Look at the trophy in their hands. They must have won something," the onlooker said.
Still, nobody could recognise the pair. They took their economy-class seats like the other passengers. Shortly after takeoff though, the pilot announced that they were Asian Games medal-winners Praveen Chitravel and Subha Venkatesan. There was mild applause from the other passengers as the two winners stood up from their seats. There was no massive rush towards them, this being an aircraft, but a couple of people walked up to greet them.
Full postIn kebab country
When in Lucknow, one must hit the best spots for kebabs
Firdose Moonda
11-Oct-2023
"Eat the kebabs," was the instruction I received from my Mumbai colleagues when they heard that my next destination was Lucknow. And it would be rude not to.
It was not any old kebab I was going to go in search of, but the best kebab: the Tunday ke Kebab. Literally it means "one-armed man's kebab" because the inventor, legend has it, had one-arm and created the dish in a 17th century version of Masterchef. The Nawab of the state wanted the softest kebabs in town - he had no teeth - and held a competition won by Haji Murad Ali. His descendants opened a restaurant in the early 1900s and 120 years later, it's still there in the Aminabad bazaar.
I decided this was the place to get the South Africans on tour together for our first night out on the town. As you may know, our country is reputed for its love of meat and despite six trips to India, I still giggle (respectfully) that here, it's classified as "non-veg," and I knew I would find kindred spirits in my countrymen. True to form, we ordered all the kebabs on offer: chicken, mutton and buffalo and found them distinctly different and dare I say, more delicious, than the meat we get at a braai.
Full postFive days in dreamy Dharamsala
A trek up to Triund, heart-stopping taxi rides, and some cricket too
Matt Roller
11-Oct-2023
Dharamsala is an extraordinary place. I've just arrived in Delhi after spending five nights there, which feels a little like returning to an office after a week's holiday. An escape into the mountains feels like a fever dream when you are back in the real world.
I covered two games at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, and spent far more time than I had envisaged writing about the outfield. I walked across it a couple of times and, in my view, there is no way it was fit to stage a World Cup match - but you are probably not here to read any more about that.
Instead, let me tell you about what Dharamsala was like away from the cricket. On Sunday morning, I hopped in a taxi with Simon Wilde of the Sunday Times and Tim Wigmore of the Telegraph which climbed up some of the most treacherous roads I have seen in my life: barely wide enough for one car, let alone two.
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