Virat Kohli’s 100th Test: Soon after the BCCI did a U-Turn, and announced 50 per cent crowd will be allowed into Mohali’s PCA IS Bindra International Stadium for Virat Kohli’s 100th Test — and India’s first Test of the series against Sri Lanka —35-year-old avid fan Ram Babu got down to making posters and banners for his cricketing hero. The Test match will begin on March 4.
Babu, who has been a cricket follower and has cheered for the Indian cricket team at stadiums across India and the world in the last 14 years, arrived in Mohali from Dharamshala, after watching the last two T20Is between India and Sri Lanka, last week. Babu, just like countless other fans, is itching to reserve his seat for the historic Test match to be played with 50 per cent capacity crowd in the 27,000 seat Mohali stadium, as soon as tickets go on sale from Wednesday.
To get to watch Virat paji’s 100th Test match at Mohali will be like a dream come true for all of the cricket fans. I will be painting Virat paji’s name on my body apart from waving the Indian flag. I am sure that Virat paji, too, will be happy to see the fans cheering for him. I have been to last year’s T20 world Cup in Dubai. But to see Virat paji score a century here will make us all feel special,” shared Ram Babu, who works as a part-time driver in Mohali, when he is not traveling to watch the Indian team play.The IS Bindra PCA international Stadium hosted its last match, a T20 International between India and South Africa in September 2019, prior to the pandemic. Overall, the stadium has hosted a total of 13 Test matches since it was constructed in 1993. India has won seven out of the 13 Test matches here and have only lost once.
The last four Test matches played at the venue have been won by India — with an eight-wicket win over England in 2016 being the last Test played at the ground.
Besides being Kohli’s 100th Test match, this week’s Test match will also mark Rohit Sharma’s first Test as the Indian Test team captain. Ambala native 36-year-old Nitin Jain, who had made sketches of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and many Indian cricketers in the past, is also gearing up to watch the historic contest. “I have completed a sketch of Rohit Sharma for his first Test match as the Indian captain and will compete with Virat paji’s. We will make sure that Virat paji remembers this historic moment due to his fans also,” shared Jain.
The Punjab Cricket Association has also started making preparations for the fans. “We will be presenting Virat Kohli with a memento, apart from making arrangements for a huge cake. Tendulkar had completed 10,000 Test runs at this ground and we are glad that we are part of Virat’s historic 100th Test match,” said RP Singla, treasurer, PCA. The Mohali administration, too, will be getting ready for hosting fans at the stadium. “We will have a meeting with PCA officials for detailed planning for the Test match on Wednesday,” said Isha Kalia, Mohali DC.
