Sporting Guyana stops rain for cricket as India reach the final without a storm

By K.R. Nayar
From Providence Stadium, Guyana

After the second semi- final, almost every journalist covering this match got thinking on what could be an appropriate headline that would convey India’s entry into the final. When a team wins in the manner that India did, beating England by 68 runs, it could be ‘India storms into the final.’ However, since the chances of a thunderstorm were not very high, would it then be apt to say "India into final without a storm”?

BCCI official  twitter on India reaching final 

The rain pattern on most of these islands is peculiar. It pours heavily one moment and then stops abruptly. The sky, like an innocent boy who did nothing wrong, turns blue and acts as if it was not responsible for anything. It can be compared to starting a car, accelerating to a good speed, and then suddenly stopping at a red light. Given that it could start raining any time, a few fans wanted the gap between the toss and the start of play to be canceled, and the countdown before the first ball to be faster. 

Fans wearing umbrella hats 

However, the Guyana fans, mostly Indians, were the happiest as they got to witness India’s fantastic show and entry into the final. Many carried colorful umbrellas with them since they had little hope of witnessing a full match due to the previous few days’ rain. Umbrellas fixed on headbands sold like hot cakes here; these are called umbrella hats.

Many used the boundary and six placards given to fans for free to shield themselves from the rain that stopped play for 75 minutes. There were also fans wearing Lasith Malinga caps. The best spell this stadium has witnessed was Malinga’s four wickets in four balls against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup at this venue.

Coca Cola's campaign 

Everything is being sold in the name of cricket. Coca-Cola had the tagline “sip it with cricket.” The combos sold at the stadiums were called “cricket craze combos.” These included a 10-inch pizza with free Coke. There was a fish dish called Fish Cutters. One scribe, seeing the board, wanted to know whether they were as deadly as Bumrah’s cutters.

The fans seated on the grass mound celebrated India’s win by dancing to the melodious calypso numbers sung by local fans. Team India was not worried about the rain threat since coach Rahul Dravid had advised them not to worry about things not in their control. Jasprit Bumrah added rhythm to Dravid’s advice, saying, “We aim to control the controllable only.”

The pitch for the Afghanistan-South Africa first semi-final at Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, was the talk of the town. The uneven bounce at a venue where cricket is held regularly surprised everyone. Most of the Indian fans were seen supporting Afghanistan. One asked whether “we can have a cemetery for this pitch that destroyed a good semi-final match.” Afghanistan getting 13 extras, three more than top scorer Azmatullah Omarzai, many fans suggested it should not be called a batsman’s or bowlers’ wicket but an extras’ wicket.

A new cricket fans’ group flag was seen fluttering at the Providence Stadium stand. It was called the Blue Army. India’s most famous supporters’ group is called the Bharat Army. A female England supporter had a placard saying: “Let us take it home all the way, boys.” An Indian fan was quick to comment that she could ask the boys to carry the World Cup to India instead.