Diwali comes a tad early

A little after 7pm in the India v England clash at Jaipur, with Rahul Dravid having just arrived at the crease, fireworks lit up the skies over the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. With Diwali - the festival of lights - around the corner, glittering rockets were launched from around the stadium. The spectacle carried on for close to five minutes - during which time Dravid marked his guard, spanked a four, edged to first slip, and trudged back to the pavilion.

What seems to have happened, according to some, is that the person responsible for the fireworks had forgotten to set the show off during the dinner break. Probably realising that the match wasn't going to last too long, he seems to have ignited the crackers. Now the fact that it was enacted when Irfan Pathan fell and Dravid entered, appears to have been a mere coincidence.

Now whether Dravid's concentration was hampered because of these theatrics, one will never know. Dravid will know he played a poor shot but he might also wish that the celebrations had been kept for a little bit later.